SHIJIAZHUANG -- A China-made tram powered by hydrogen fuel cells was put into commercial operation Thursday in Tangshan, North China's Hebei province. It is the first commercial hydrogen-powered tram in the world and made by China Railway Rolling Corporation (CRRC) Tangshan Co Ltd.
With water being its only emission, the tram emits no pollutants. No nitrogen oxides will be produced as the temperature of the reaction inside hydrogen fuel cells is controlled under 100 degrees Celsius.
The distance between carriage floor of the tram and the rail is only 35 centimeters thanks to the latest low-floor technology, which can remove station platforms and thus making boarding easy for passengers.
It can be refilled with hydrogen in 15 minutes and can run for 40 km at a maximum speed of 70 km per hour...snip http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2017-10/27/content_33769630.htm
Related: Great Wall Motors (China's largest sport utility vehicle and pick-up truck producer) plans to unveil first Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle in 2022
…According to Great Wall Motor VP Tobias Brunner, Great Wall thinks FCEV is the future trend for the industry and three reasons may explain its preference. In the first place, FCEV’s range is at the same level as fuel-powered vehicles and has advantages over electric vehicles limited by current battery technology. FCEV offers more convenience because it is much faster for vehicles to supplement the fuel than to charge.
Secondly, compared with electric vehicles, full cell boasts many advantages on the overall performance, endurance, fuel cost (including usage cost and supplement cost) and emission….more: http://autonews.gasgoo.com/new_energy/70011004.html
Poster Comment:
To those who scoffed at hydrogen fuel cells- the last laugh is the best. Har de Har Har.
#1: paraclete To: Operation 40 (#0)
paraclete posted on 2017-10-27 21:38:13 Reply Private Reply
#2: Tooconservative To: Operation 40 (#0)
Meh.
If you really want to address environmental impact of fossil fuels and switch to hydrogen, use it to power your coal or natural gas plant.
All of my electricity has been hydrogen powered for several years now. And my utility spreads that over thousands of square miles 24/7 to every household. We were one of a number of pilot projects around the country who did this, eliminating a coal-fired plant and the trainloads of sulphurous coal it used. And the hydrogen is fully utilized, just as it would be in a fuel cell. As you might guess, we are located near the intersections of some major natural gas pipelines. Our hydrogen is delivered by pipeline from the small extraction plant. And we are one of hundreds of utility companies that could make this switch to hydrogen. I know of at least one other electric utility in my region will make the switch in 2019.
That is major impact now. Not decades from now after we build up hydrogen fuel stations and distribution networks across the region and buy new vehicles with fuel cells. And in terms of the environment, we needed to get rid of that coal plant a lot more than we needed to deal with internal combustion engines.
The major pollution around the world is electrical generation plants, not vehicles. Convert the power plants first if you really care about the environment and switching to a real hydrogen economy. In very dense cities, hydrogen vehicles make a lot of sense. But in the vast majority of America, hydrogen-powered electrical utility companies will do a lot more for you than switching to fuel-cell vehicles.
Tooconservative posted on 2017-10-27 22:59:25 Reply Private Reply
#3: A K A Stone To: (#0)
A K A Stone posted on 2017-10-27 23:44:10 Reply Private Reply