Here’s an interesting alternative use for your hybrid electric. John Sweeney, who lives in Harvard, Massachusetts, was one of the many victims of the snow and ice storms in the north east that caused power outages for hundreds of thousands of people a year or so ago. In times of adversity, human innovation takes over.

Sweeney used an inverter to keep his refrigerator, freezer, a wood stove fan, and the news on a small TV running. All running off his Toyota Prius.

The battery in the car provided power and, when it got low, the car started up and recharged itself. The Prius is capable of producing about 3kw of power continuously—enough to run a small refrigerator, efficient freezer, etc. That’s about equivalent to the basic household needs of most people in the U.S.

After three days of this, Sweeney’s Prius had burned through a whopping five gallons of fuel. I can tell you from experience that this is about what my Honda generator gets in economy, so that’s not bad at all.

Source: Yahoo

Post from: Zoomi Life

Prius Owner Powers His Home With His Car

West Race Cars, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the premier makers of race cars on the market. Their latest model, made in conjunction with Kleenspeed Technology, is the WX10-T, an all-electric sport racer.

While West isn’t the first race car manufacturer to make an electric, they are the first North American one to make one for production. The WX10-T was unveiled at the Performance Racing Industry trade show in early December and has already sold at least one car. The initial production run, which will take place in 2009, will be for between 5 and 10 of these cars with more being built as demand requires.

The car features some awesome specs, not the least of which is the Thruxar electric motor made by Kleenspeed. This motor produces a whopping 200hp and 165fp of torque right off the line. The battery pack on this racer is good for 30 minutes of drive time and is made to be “hot swapped” in the pit, for quick “refueling.” The battery packs take about 1.5 hours to recharge at 220v.

The cars are capable of doing 150mph, but no numbers as to quarter mile and other data are available yet. The car is based on the frame for the WX10 racer and was designed with the involvement of the IMSA (International Motorsports Association).

This probably doesn’t seem like much to most people, since race cars are hardly the cars we’ll see everyday on the road. They aren’t exactly the world’s largest pollution contributors either. It is exciting, however, when you consider that motor sports are usually the cutting edge of the automotive technology world and that more testing, refining, etc. happens thanks to racing than from any other source. Fuel injection, which greatly boosts both power and economy in cars, is an innovation made thanks to racing, for instance.

Now with electrics becoming a new sports market, and with innovators like the Wrightspeed X1 electric race car and established racing manufacturers like West Race Cars in the field, plus the involvement of a major race player like the IMSA, things will only improve.

Post from: Zoomi Life

West Unveils WX10-T Electric Race Car

Remember the movie Tron? Lightcycles were the coolest thing back in the day and everyone dreamed of owning one, riding one, or just had the Atari game to play like they did. Well, if those cycles were to be made today, they’d probably look like the MOTOrepublic Beta.

This electric motorcycle concept has a vaguely X-shaped design with a smith’s hammer headlight, ultra-thin frame, and sports electric riding with truly zero emissions (no gasses, no noise). Pretty cool.

The most innovative part of the design, however, is the exoskeleton frame, which could be the future for electric bikes. Lighter, stronger, and allowing more versatility and (possibly) more space for components, these frames might be the answer EV motorcycles have been looking for.

[Show as slideshow]

Source: MOTORepublic

Post from: Zoomi Life

The MOTOrepublic Beta Noiseless Racer Concept Electric Motorcycle

The Phylla electric car is solar-powered and capable of going 80mph. The concept prototype was driven by some VIP guests at the Turin Environmental Park recently. It’s a “2+2” seater, which means it can seat two or four people, depending on how much luggage space you’d like.

The Phylla is very small and has two unfortunate aspects to it:

1. Its looks, which are very Hello Kitty plastic toy.
2. Its name, which makes it sound, well, phallic.

The prototype at least proves a couple of important things: solar powered vehicles are at least possible and at speeds that are realistic for today’s driving. Here’s some specs on this one:

• Weight: 750kg (with 150kg battery weight)
• Range: 145km on li-ion or 220km on li-polymer
• Speed: 0-50km/h in 6 seconds, 130km/h maximum
• Frame: Split-frame, aluminum chassis
• Capacity: 2 persons, 584 litre luggage or 4 persons, 142 litres luggage
• Power source: plug-in or solar

While the car probably can’t power itself all day, every day purely on solar, it can do a good job of it. It’s a realistic prototype that could be a good urban commuter. Questions exist as to whether it would pass safety tests and be road and freeway worthy in many countries, however.

Source: TreeHugger

Post from: Zoomi Life

The Phylla Solar-Powered Electric Car Looks Like Hello Kitty

Now, a couple of years later, they’re back. In the mean-time, apparently, AC Propulsion has been busy in the background with companies like Tesla (Roadster) and BMW (Mini E).

The company has a new facility in San Dimas, California–home of Bill and Ted–and is now promoting their electric car conversions.  Specifically of the Scion from Toyota.  For a mere $55,000, you can take your $15,000 Scion and have it made into an all-electric with a 100+ mile range per charge. The price does not include lifetime slurpies at the Circle K.  Strange things are afoot. Check out the video:

Post from: Zoomi Life

AC Propulsion’s Ebox Electric Car Conversion

Until you sit down and really think about it, charging an electric car from a public charging station seems like a pretty simple concept. Then you start to realize that things like vandalism, theft, billpoints, and other stuff starts to come into play. So saying a public electric vehicle charging station is as easy as plug it in, give it your credit card, and walk away is like saying an ATM is just a machine that you say “gimme money” to and it spits it out.

Well, ATMs probably work like that in Washington D.C., but in the rest of the world…

ChargePoint Smartlets are a system designed by Coulomb Technologies in California. These systems were on display at the EDTA Conference earlier this month and were demonstrated to an interested public and potential buyers/investors.

The system works based on an RFID card that the user waves near the receiver on the Smartlet’s screen. This identifies the driver and “unlocks” the machine for use. The door for the cord is then unlocked and the user can stretch it to the car, plug it in, and activate the charging sequence. Then walk away.

The system monitors the charge, shuts itself off when it’s done, and automatically locks down if the cord is unplugged (no more power), cut, or any tampering with the system is noted. It can then only be unlocked by the user’s card or a technician.

Charging can be stopped at any time by the user’s card if just a quick top-off or some additional juice while you shop is needed, of course.

It’s built to be as bulletproof as possible, as are most financial machines. The next time you’re at the gas station or ATM, think about what’s going on behind the panel on that dispenser you’re utilizing and all the possibilities for things to go wrong and how the machine’s designer’s have built it to think around those. If the hose is cut or ripped off the gas pump, for instance, the whole row of pumps in that line will automatically shut off.

The technology is there and ready for use, so now it’s just a matter of getting it installed (which companies like Better Place are doing now) and getting people to use it.

Check out AutoBlogGreen’s excellent reporting on the ChargePoint stations for more information and a detailed photogallery of the charging process.

[Show as slideshow]

Source: AutoBlogGreen

Post from: Zoomi Life

ChargePoint Public Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles

The ticket, which he went to court to fight, resulted in a fine.  The judge, however, upon hearing that Ben’s car was an electric DIY conversion, changed the ticket so that it wouldn’t reflect negatively on Ben’s driving record and then took him across the street to talk to the local newspaper about the area’s first-ever electric speeder.

Ben now has a legal defense fund on ecomodder to pay off his legal debt of $83.80.  Contributions, through the fund on their site, are encouraged. Check out the story on ecomodder for all the details.

Here’s a video of Ben telling the whole story himself:

Post from: Zoomi Life

World’s First Speeding Ticket in an Electric Car?

Dale Vince, the CEO of Ecotricity, has announced that their electric sports car, which so far has not been given a name (just tagged the “Wind Car”), is ready to name his electric dream vehicle. Back in May of 2008, Dale announced his intention to “build an electric sports car to rival the Tesla.” Ecotricity, the company Vince runs, is a wind energy company in the UK and the announcement for the car was made on Vince’s blog, Zerocarbonista.

Getting off to an immediate rocky start, the car’s design took twice as long as planned and the first model had numerous mechanical issues. This after $150 million USD had been spent on the project.

Apparently, the car is ready for unveiling, but not until it has a name. To get the ball rolling on ideas, Vince has proposed three names: Zero, Nemesis, and Storm.

The following is my own list of names for this car, since there isn’t much in the way of photographs of it to generate ideas from:

• Unaffordable: Just like the Tesla.
• PublicityGetter: Which is what this car is really for.
• ElCaminoEV: Since for all I know, that’s what it looks like.

Obviously, this project is not just, well, dubious, but on all fronts appears to be nothing more than a publicity scam pushed by this CEO to keep his company in the headlines. So far, nothing of substance has come from this EV other than a lot of publicity for Ecotricity (which is mentioned often in all this).

Sources: 1, 2

Post from: Zoomi Life

Ecotricity’s New Electric Car Needs a Name

Cree, which was founded in 1996 and began prototyping and testing an innovative 3-wheeled electric called the SAM, went out of business in 2003 due to lack of sales and investors. The vehicles were being tested on Swiss roads almost exclusively by private consumers in Zurich and Basle.

Barely a year later, the company restructured and came back, debt-free, with new investors for the newly-emerging electrics market. The company now boasts about 13 million CHF in investment capital and nearly 400,000 CHF in shareholder capital. The company is still private and has been busy putting together the SAM for today’s market.

Aimed mainly for the Swedish, Danish, and German markets, the SAM is approved for public road use. This little 2-seater’s got some pretty impressive stats:

• 168v, 250a motor putting out 15kW at 1,800rpm (Permanent magnet, brushless)
• 5.54:1 gear reduction to synchronous belt drive
• Full charge in 6 hours (40% in 1 hr, 70% in 2)
• Range of 50-70km
• Top speed of 85km/h
• 0-50km/h in 7 seconds with full load (2 passengers)

The chassis is almost entirely aluminum and the vehicle has a tare weight of 545kg (with batteries). It’s an interesting front-wheel steering and rear-wheel drive with the rear wheel being the single wheel. One thing it doesn’t have is regenerative braking, but it does sport great stability for such a small, 3-wheeler. It meets all European safety standards and has a roll cage and 3-point safety belts.

One of the designs that really sets this one off, though, is the hinged gull-wing doors that fold inward to crimp their profile for tight parking spots. This means the doors don’t extend beyond the front wheels when opening, allowing for very tight parking without “door dings.”

It’s a little dated in looks, but still isn’t too bad for a 3-wheeler. I’m not a big fan of these designs, though I do like the Aptera (thanks to it’s alien spaceship looks). I’m willing to cut the SAM some slack, though, because it’s an extremely fun-looking electric vehicle. Plus it’s been road tested and approved, so it’s literally ready to sell right now.

Cree is looking for business partners in marketing and investing to get this car to market and into mass-production. Most of the drive train technology is proprietary and designed by Cree while most of the standard parts, like tires, wheels, struts, etc., are freely available after-market. This means that maintenance and repair won’t be too costly.

The prototype is currently being sold on a minimum-build run in four color offerings. Customization is, of course, available. It’d doubtful that the SAM will ever see American shores in any numbers, but it would be cool to get one. If they meet their target mass-production pricing (6,600 Euros), it might be possible to import one for less than $20,000USD.

Here’s a fun video of the Cree SAM in action:

[Show as slideshow]

Post from: Zoomi Life

The Swedish SAM Electric Car by Cree Is Back!

The Triac is neither a car nor a motorcycle, but sort of a combination. It’s in the same category as the Aptera and other “technically-motorcycles, but really cars” vehicles, with it’s 3-wheeled design, thin body, and light weight.

These electric vehicles are highway-capable, have a top speed of around 80mph and can go 100 miles (at 45mph) on a single charge. Made by Green Vehicles, the car can charge from a 110v or 220v outlet and has a 5-speed transmission.

The Triac looks like a VW bug (the new ones) from the front and are in a tear-drop shape with a single wheel in the back. They seat two and are designed for the American market and feature a 20kW AC motor and lithium-ion batteries. No price fields are forthcoming as of yet, but supposedly the release date for this could be as early as 2010.

Green Vehicles is also in the final design phase of an electric pickup called the Buckshot. This one will feature the same motor, but a 3-speed transmission with lower gearing to make it a “true work truck.” Little else is available on that EV, but it’s an interest development. Especially to me, since I like my pickups.

This is great news, although it would be nice of Green Vehicles were to give out a little more info so we can compare some specs. The good news about this company is that they’re apparently spending more money and effort on actually building the vehicles than they are on marketing. This is obvious by the fact that their initial press release on the Triac was met with such high feedback and questions that their marketing department was overwhelmed and had to release a new information sheet to try to deal with the overload. Many sites reported an inability to get through via email or on the phone to have questions answered. I personally take that as a good sign.

Green Vehicles has two dealerships currently, one in San Jose, California and a new one in Mill Valley (where they are located). They’ve also got partner dealerships in Salem, Oregon and Escondido, CA. New dealers will be opening in February in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles, California.

Check out the Triac preview video put together by Green Vehicles:

[Show as slideshow]

Post from: Zoomi Life

Closer Look: The Triac 3-Wheeled Electric Car/Bike

As with our electric car picks for 2008, of top electric scooter picks are all available in the USA now or will be in 2009 and are top picks for various reasons: design, capability, innovation, etc. Most of you know by now that scooters are one of my least favorite things, but there are an amazing number of them on the EV market and they seem to be popular as commuters and all-around “get around” machines.

We narrowed the picks and left the best electric scooters by cutting out all that aren’t commuters, per se, and are really just glorified toys. So you won’t see any modified Razors or skateboards with handlebars on this list. You will see one and two passenger scooters and mopeds, though.

#1 – Piaggio MP3 Hybrid

Availability: 2009
Price: TBD

The Piaggio MP3 Hybrid is the only one on this list that’s not all-electric, but it won out purely on design and innovation. It’s 3-wheeled design, amazing engineering that allows a 40-degree tilt to either side, maximum stability (and safety) and extreme performance, all pushed it to the top of this list. Available world-wide next year, including here in the USA, this one will be hard to beat.

#2 – Vectrix VX-1

Availability: Now
Price: $10,495

While not a lot of change and innovation took place with the Vectrix VX-1 for the 2009 model, it’s one that already looks good, has great performance, and is tried-and-true on American streets. A name change and a paint job make this scooter different from its predecessors, with performance and reliability already tested. New models, like the VX-1e and VX-2 will also be available next year, but are basically dumbed-down versions of this number two pick.

#3 – Zero Emission Motors Bolt

Availability: Now
Price: $1,645

Not the most stylish moped on the market, maybe, but the Zero Emission Motors Bolt electric scooter is a reliable performer with great characteristics. Aimed at a market that looks for affordability as part of their main requirements for an EV commuter, this model definitely delivers great performance for value. We were most impressed with the range and speed capabilities of this little goer.

#4 – Zuumer Electric Scooter

Availability: January 2009
Price: $2,195

I know I said I wouldn’t include any glorified skateboards on this list, but the Zuumer electric scooter is just too cool to skip. This one, though, is technically a glorified SNOWboard, so it sneaks past that little roadblock. There’s no other words to describe this one other than “cool” and “fun as hell.” The Zuumer is probably the most innovative scooter on this list as far as an enjoyable ride goes. Anyone who tries one will become addicted. Ask our editor, Sebastian. He’s waiting impatiently for his.

#5 – ZAP’s Zapino

Availability: Now
Price: $3,500

The Zapino is not the most stylish or most innovative scooter on the market, sure, but definitely one of the most popular and affordable. That puts the Zapino on our list, since not only are these well-tested, but they are also consistently popular. Their low price tag and decent performance are what make them the favorite for many EV buyers.

Post from: Zoomi Life

Our Top 5 Electric Scooters Of 2008

Got an opinion about the Mistubishi i MiEV? Maybe shape the future of how this car company views EVs? Well, here ya go. While it might be nothing more than a customer relations marketing tool, this survey could very well shape how Mitsubishi sees itself in the electric future.

Why? Well, this company is one of the smallest of the Japanese automakers and has always had a pretty customer-focused outlook. Their surveys in the past have shaped (literally) their cars and their engineering for popular after-market and factory-installed additions.

So perhaps this survey will gain their attention as well, especially if enough of us are asking for the same basic things. Especially if enough of us non-California types that ride on freeways and go more than twenty miles a day chime in. No offense to the California types, of course. It’s just that EV makers seem to focus on you all too much.

So take the survey (it’s just a few minutes long) and let them know what you think. You’ve nothing to lose anyway.

Post from: Zoomi Life

Mitsubishi Wants to Know What You Think About the i MiEV

Claiming they’re “five years behind Asians” in their ability to manufacture battery cells for electric vehicles, fourteen battery companies formed an alliance in order to push for federal funding for improved research and development. Their plan is to lobby the federal government to give them handouts so they can catch up to the Asians (mainly the Chinese) in technology and manufacturing.

The new National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture is going to hit Congress up for up to $2 billion to improve lithium-ion battery production in the United States. Their claim is that this might jump start a new domestic auto industry.

Of course, none of them bother to mention the downers to this: the costs associated with building here versus importing, the question of whether they CAN catch up, and the big one: why is it the government’s job to give them our money. In this day of bailouts, I guess that begging to Congress is how business is done.

My views are pretty simple: if there is a need for American manufacture of battery technology, plenty of private funding will be available for it. If there isn’t, then these businesses need to find a new job. Of course, I believe in the power of the free market.

Sources: Treehugger

Post from: Zoomi Life

Top American Battery Makers Form Alliance

No reason was given, but it’s not hard to make a guess.  The slack automobile market, lower oil prices, and a general economic slump are pretty easy to point towards.  Meanwhile, the Asian market will be eating this one up to maturity for us.  So maybe this is a good thing.

Source: Treehugger

Post from: Zoomi Life

BYD Changes Date For U.S. Release of F3DM

Alright, these are our picks for the top 5 electric motorcycles of this year. As with our pick of cars, these are all models available for purchase in the USA by 2010 (well - except for one… see below) and are being gauged by innovation, design, and availability. I’ll dispense with my usual flowery commentary and present to you, now, our 2008 picks for Top 5 Electric Motorcycles! \insert drum roll sound file here\

#1 – Electric Motorsport GPR-S

Our contention for number one was close, with the number 2 Enertia nearly winning out. What put the GPR-S over the top, though, is it’s freeway readiness. The GPR-S is a stylin’ bike that won’t easily be confused as electric at first glance. Until you “fire it up” that is. Being the first street AND freeway-legal electric motorcycle in the USA, the GPR-S definitely gets points for innovation. With an affordable price tag to compete with like-sized and styled gasoline bikes and with a smart, modular component platform, this bike is definitely worthy of our top spot.

#2 – Brammo Motorsports Enertia

As I said, this was a close one. The Enertia missed the number one spot purely because it’s a commuter, not a freeway machine. For style, though, this one is top of the list. The Enertia has to be seen to be understood for it’s awesome looks. It comes with strong innovation and good power too, though it’s price tag is higher than an equivalent gas-powered model by more than double. Sleek, fast, and innovative, this is a great product from Oregon that we hope to see more of.

#3 – Zero Motorcycles Zero-X

Our list features two dirt bikes, which wouldn’t have happened last year. Previously only available to those who live in the country or have access to remote riding areas, motocross had a limited appeal. Until now. With quiet electrics, new motocross tracks could be appearing right off the freeway, in neighborhoods near you. The Zero-X is one of the innovators to make that happen, delivering great style, strong performance, and electric innovation, this one easily made our list. How can you argue with 0-60 in less than 4 seconds?

#4 – KTM Race-Ready

Austrian motocross firm KTM announced their race-ready dirt bike to be released by 2010, powered entirely by electricity. With standard motocross styling, this bike doesn’t win any design awards, but it will deliver definite race-ready performance. With the popular enduro frame of most racing dirt bike, the KTM model delivers great performance and strong appeal to those in the “better than amateur” level of motocross. The KTM name doesn’t hurt either.

#5 – KillaCycle

I admit that this one doesn’t meet any of the requirements we listed for electric motorcycles except that its’ electric. That being said, it’s just too frikkin’ cool to ignore. The world’s fastest motorcycle on the drag strip, the KillaCycle has been consistently setting, then beating, then re-setting and beating again it’s own records. This is the fastest electric vehicle right now, bar none. The coolest part? It costs about 7 cents to run this thing down the quarter mile strip, including the burnout. Definitely worthy of it’s name, we had to put KillaCycle on this list.

There you have it, our top 5 picks for electric motorcycles in 2008. No pedals, no engine noise, just pure, 2-wheeled electric performance!

Post from: Zoomi Life

Our Top 5 Electric Motorcycles for 2008

The secretive company EEStor has been quietly talked up by potential manufacturers eager to use their new EESU (Electrical Energy Storage Unit). At the same time, EEStor themselves has kept pretty quiet, which only builds the anticipation. This company’s technology is a unique, light-weight electrical storage unit (battery) that can store extremely high amounts of energy.

Sounds great, but so far, there’s no puddin, just heresay. Now the patent is out, having been granted and therefore publicly published. If the design is correct (and works), then this is truly a revolutionary step forward in electrical storage technology.

The EESU incorporates an aluminum coated barium titanate powder that is immersed in a polyethylene terephthalate plastic matrix. I don’t know what any of that is either, but it sounds pretty impressive. Looking at the pictures (Woo hoo! It’s got pictures!), though, I think that means there’s a plastic box with some powder floating around in a liquid and all that somehow stores electricity. I’m not a chemist, so that’s about as good as it gets for my understanding.

Anyway, the rest of the numbers are impressive, for sure. This little (relatively) battery can hold 52.220kW/h of energy and weighs in at only 281.56 pounds (including all hardware). This technology is also not supposed to degrade with use and cycling, unlike lithium-ion. This means it can be used (theoretically) forever.

Here’s a comparison to make those numbers more impressive: the Tesla uses a 53kW/h battery pack that weighs in at a whopping 950+ pounds total weight. Plus the batteries, being li-ion, are rarely decharged below 20%, so their capacity is actually smaller in actual use. This means that the EESU weighs about 1/3 as much, holds just about as much energy, and actually holds more because it can be thoroughly drained without adversely affecting the battery.

Impressed yet?

Now the question is whether this ultra-capacity battery will actually work and whether it really exists in physical form. Right now, it’s just on paper for all anyone knows. True to their usual behavior, EEStor is being quiet about whether they have a test-able prototype.

[Show as slideshow]

Sources: 1 (PDF), 2

Post from: Zoomi Life

EEStor’s Ultracapacitor Patent Revealed To the Public

Ian Wright, inventor and builder of the Wrightspeed X1 electric race car we featured not too long ago, has announced that the car will not be manufactured for sale in the foreseeable future. Economic woes, lower gas prices, and other factors have made the car unrealistic to sell on the market.

Instead, Wright plans to focus on the drive train technology and battery power in order to further perfect it and offer it for license to other EV manufacturers. In this way, he hopes to continue in the industry and make it easier for upstarts and smaller manufacturers to compete by alleviating some of their R&D costs as far as the propulsion tech goes.

Source: AutoBlogGreen

Post from: Zoomi Life

Update on the Wrightspeed X1 Electric Race Car

The winner of this year’s Boston Design Competition was a car called the Boston Bullet by a Romanian designer named Mihai Panaitescu. The competition’s theme was to come up with a car that is inspired by the city’s revolutionary and technological culture.

The Bullet looks like something straight out of a superhero movie too. Big wheels with very thin tires and lots of flare, a wide, open-mouthed grill, and a muscle car tilt forward. The imposing black glass windows, low brow ridge, and strong lines scream muscular power.

This 3-passenger sports car sports two electric motors and transparent roof and fender work. It’s very cool, if only a concept on a CAD system. The doors are a great forward-sweep design, which is a good step away from the usual gull-wing design most concept cars seem to love and few production cars ever use.

All in all, Mihai earned his $2,000 prize and if the car ever goes to production, he’ll get an additional $10,000. I wouldn’t count on seeing this car on the streets outside of a Hollywood production of the latest Iron Man or Punisher movie, but it would be cool if it were.

[Show as slideshow]

Source: StyleCrave

Post from: Zoomi Life

A Bullet With Boston’s Name On It

All told, the video is a good run-through of the Tesla and what it is and what it isn’t.  He starts with exterior design and basic elements of the car’s features, then gets into the driver’s experience inside the car, and finally works over the numbers and nitty-gritties on the Roadster 1.5.

A great series worth watching (about 15 minutes in total). You can watch the high-quality videos at oncars.com, or watch the embedded videos below.

Part 1: Design

Part 2: Interior & User Experience

Part 3: Performance

Post from: Zoomi Life

New Tesla Roadster 1.5 Video Review

This bears the question: how well does it do Brodeys?

Post from: Zoomi Life

The Tango Snow Plow

Honda’s FCX Clarity has been around for quite a while, being tested, refined, and re-tested on the streets of California and Japan. The car was first introduced in 1999 as a concept based on the Honda Accord platform. Soon, it evolved as the concept was engineered and tested, being released as the Clarity in 2002.

Since then, the FCX is more efficient than ever, with the latest 2008-09 model appearing first at the LA Auto Show in 2007 and released for lease in 2008 to Southern Californians. Honda chose California because of the already-existing infrastructure of hydrogen pumping stations. The Clarity can be leased for $600/month (which includes insurance) for 36 months.

The car is remarkably understated and largely ignored by most main stream press because it’s not perceived as “revolutionary.” Honda hasn’t put the marketing behind it that Toyota put behind the Prius, even though the Clarity is, compared to the Prius, a much more revolutionary car.

The FCX Clarity uses a hydrogen fuel cell, which consists of a relatively small tank filled with compressed hydrogen. This is then split, using a catalyst within the fuel cell, with the electrons going to power an electric motor and the protons escaping through a polymer electrolyte membrane to another chamber. Air from the outside is then added along with the end of the circuit (returning electrons), which combine to create pure water (H2O), which is finally emitted from the car’s tailpipe.

No pollutants, no mess. Just water.

The current version of the Clarity carries four passengers, does 0-60km/h in 4.8 seconds (that’s about 0-60mph in 7.7 seconds). Using the new EPA combined standard and assuming 1kg of hydrogen is equivalent to 1 gallon of unleaded gasoline, the car is rated at 68mpg. Those are the new EPA numbers that are used for most hybrids—the same numbers that reduced the Prius’ record from 60mpg to 48. Yep, that’s a 20mpg difference right there.

The downfall of hydrogen as a fuel source is its current production means. Most hydrogen in the US (and the rest of the world) is produced by steam reforming natural gas—a big term that just means “burning natural gas to produce steam.” Other methods are easily available, however, including electrolysis (splitting water via electricity).

That method is also being tested by Honda as a sister project to the Clarity’s development. The setup is called the Home Energy Station. Two phases of this program supplement gas heating of the home by adding the new furnace addition Honda has developed which reduces the amount of gas a home uses to heat itself by up to 30%. Currently being tested in New England, this technology is expected to become available nationally as a stand-alone product by 2012.

The other addition is the use of solar panels, an electric compressor, and regular water from the home’s water source (city water, well, etc.) to ultimately produce compressed hydrogen for refueling the Clarity. This setup uses sunlight at peak times of day to produce electricity to perform electrolysis on the water, which gives off hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen is released into the atmosphere and the hydrogen is sent to a compressor, which compresses it into a tank. Excess hydrogen could be fed into the home to supplement the home heating unit as well.

The solar panels could, of course, be replaced by wind or any other generator to produce the electricity needed.

Other methods of producing hydrogen are also being experimented with right now, by universities and scientists, such as biological water splitting, biomass and waste reforming, and solar thermal water splitting.

The Clarity itself gets ignored or even poo-pooed by a lot of sites, including some of my favorites like Treehugger, because it’s not a pure electric and because most people can’t wrap their mind around the idea of hydrogen as a battery. They think of it as a fuel like gasoline or diesel, when in fact it doesn’t “burn” at all (it produces heat, but not flame or carbon). Your cell phone battery and your electric car’s batteries get hot when they’re being used as well.

While battery storage gets more and more technically efficient and becomes easier to incorporate into a car, it will be quite a while before cars with the range and performance of a Tesla Roadster or Fisker Karma become cheap enough to build that most of us can afford them over the standard car available at dealerships right now. The Clarity, however, uses current technology that can be used right now without much waiting. They are cold weather friendly and uncomplicated to understand.

As the use of lithium-ion batteries increases, so do the roadblocks to its adoption as a standard. Safety issues, transportation restrictions on the batteries, and more are all things that must be addressed before the cost of lithium-ion batteries can be used on a wider scale. The cost of those batteries will no doubt fall as production in creases, though few in the “green” community discuss the fact that those batteries use a lot of plastic. Plastic made from petroleum.

Compressed hydrogen, however, has been proven to be safe, can be housed in containers that are 100% recyclable, and is a renewable and possibly 100% non-impact storage medium for electric vehicles. Takes up less space than batteries too.

That’s why I think Honda is bold to be putting most of their “alternative” energies into hydrogen and that’s why I think hydrogen will be one of the, err, driving forces of the future.

Here’s a great first drive video of the Honda FCX clarity, put together by the guys over at myride.com

[Show as slideshow]

Sources: HondaClarity.org, Honda.com

Post from: Zoomi Life

Honda’s FCX Clarity: Hydrogen-Electric Hybrid

Well, it’s the end of the year, so it’s time for everyone to start rolling out their favorites lists and summing up what they saw during the year. This is our top five favorite electric cars that are either on the market or will be before 2010.

#1 – Fisker Karma

While this car has some drawbacks, namely the price tag, it’s got a lot going for it: great styling, beautiful concept, and a well-put-together package of performance and practicality. I really like this car and hope that other car makers stand up and notice it.

#2 – Honda FCX Clarity

Although the car’s looks aren’t all that breakthrough and it’s definitely not getting the kind of publicity that the Chevy Volt and similar cars are getting, I feel that this car is probably the most innovative design to hit the roads so far. Released in limited numbers for testing to Hollywood celebrities and mogul types this summer, the car is quietly revolutionizing how people think about energy. If the car had been designed to look a little cooler, it might have made number one.

#3 – Aptera

This is, design-wise, easily the most innovative car yet. Due to hit the roads soon, this car has all kinds of great things going for it