On the road to fuel-cell cars.

• Autores: Steven Ashley
• Localización: Scientific American, ISSN 0036-8733, Vol. 292, Nº. 3, 2005, págs. 62-69
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • The article focuses on the development of fuel-cell automobiles. Rosario Berretta leads a team that is preparing a fleet of 60 of DaimlerChrysler's latest hydroJOUR fuel-cell car, the F-Cell, for testing worldwide. The aim is to allow automakers to evaluate the pollution-free, energy-efficient vehicles in diverse driving conditions. After a decade of focused research and development, the auto industry worldwide has passed a milestone with the arrival of the first test fleets of seemingly roadworthy fuel-cell cars. Faced with ever tighter governmental regulatory limits on exhaust emissions, forecasts of impending oil shortages and a potential global warming catastrophe caused by greenhouse gases, the motor vehicle industry and national governments have invested tens of billions of dollars during the past 10 years to bring to reality a clean, efficient propulsion technology that is intended to replace the venerable internal-combustion engine. The prospect of a commercial fuel-cell car by 2015 will depend on improvements in membrane technology, which makes up as much as 35 percent of the cost of a fuel-cell stack. Honda engineers demonstrated that their fuel-cell units could withstand winter conditions, an important engineering achievement for the fuel-cell research community. Significant improvements in onboard hydroJOUR storage capacity, fuel-cell durability and power as well as substantially lower costs will be required before fuel-cell cars can approach marketability. INSET: Overview/Green Machines.