If only they could make fuel from kudzu…
As one of the world’s largest manufacturers, it behoves Toyota to “play the game”. They did that with the Prius, not knowing whether the public would go for it; it turned out to be a great investment.
BMW and Mercedes are also into fuel cells and Iceland, of all places is turning out to be a great test location, since it has plenty of electricity from geothermal and hydrogen car be made on the spot without generating CO2.
All leading carmakers will have to embrace the new technologies. They can certainly afford the developing costs.
They get $19,000 from the Feds for every one they build…The sticker price is $60,000…They plan to make 700 of them, virtually all going to government agencies and public utilities both of whom will provide and maintain their own fueling stations…All these things really do is provide content for the automotive magazines…
“They get $19,000 from the Feds US for every one they build…”
There, I fixed it.
Right…Corporate welfare at it’s best…
It’s no different than subsidizes solar and wind power. Governments might offer up some development money, but to subsidize each unit off the production line is silly. Japanese companies got support at the development level, but once the product was ready they were on their own.
“…they wee on their own.”
Got kind of a weird visual on that one…
They probably could make something from kudzu. I’ve seen proposals for marsh plants that grow in salty water, a huge advantage in the southwest. The proposals have been to build a big facility in northern Mexico near the end of the Colorado River, using water from the Gulf of California. I personally think algae is an even better bet as many kinds grow in salt water and some can grow at alarming rates. The chemists say there are candidates that can be converted to fuels more easily than plants. They don’t have the great masses of cellulose that is tricky to turn to a fuel.
Algae producing oil for bio-diesel has its own peculiar problems. Lab and pilot testing have shown good yields, but long-term there are big issues with contamination with competing species, especially in open systems. The Europeans are working with miles of transparent pipes but the cost is high. Also, algae has a high water content from which the oil must be separated. Liquid-liquid extraction may be the lowest energy route to separation.
Hydrogen is indeed a glorified battery. But it’s a necessary glorification so electric cars can travel unlimited miles and be replenished much quicker then a recharging a battery. A glorified battery is what is needed.