Better Fuel Technology
Better Fuel Technology is a Canadian company and has this web site.
They appear to use hydrogen to improve the fuel economy of vehicles in an unusual way.
This page on their web site is entitled Facts About HHO.
Under a heading of How Hydrogen Generators For Vehicles Work, this is said.
The greatest misconception about hydrogen is that we are making fuel from water. This is entirely incorrect and if it were true, would violate several laws of physics.
It is NOT possible to generate hydrogen at a rate fast enough to be used as the primary fuel.
Hydrogen powered cars do exist. They are designed to use Hydrogen as primary fuel. The hydrogen is created in advance. Just as every ordinary car requires a tank for gasoline, hydrogen is stored within cylinders on board the vehicle.
Our equipment is an inexpensive retrofit, compatible with any vehicle type and size.
Hydrogen assists the combustion process of the existing fuel. Although you will enjoy substantial fuel savings, you will still have to use the primary fuel.
Hydrogen generators use electricity from the battery of the vehicle to split the water (H2O) into its basic elements of oxygen and hydrogen. The generated hydrogen is then injected into the air stream of the vehicle to improve combustion efficiency and fuel economy.
In a standard engine, the combustion cycle is very fast: 0.007 seconds. Most of the fuel molecules are too large to burn completely in this extremely limited time.
The situation is made worse by the fact that the spark plug only ignites a small percentage of the fuel. The fire generated must cascade from one fuel molecule to the next as it propagates through the combustion chamber of the engine. This wastes precious time.
Hydrogen burns and travels through the combustion chamber 10X faster than a gasoline flame. Hydrogen fills the space between fuel molecules and has the effect of making them closer together. The flame travels faster and the fuel is exposed to flame sooner and for a longer period of time. The result is a cleaner, more complete burn.
You can think of hydrogen as a giant spark plug in your engine; igniting all the fuel instead of leaving much of it unburned.The science behind hydrogen injection has been well documented and understood. It has been known for over thirty years that the addition of hydrogen to fossil fuels, burned in internal combustion engines, will increase the efficiency of the engine.
This concept has been validated by a multitude of papers published by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).
This is all very interesting.
UK Govt Awards Almost GBP 33m To Innovative Energy Storage Projects
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Renewables Now.
This is the first paragraph.
The UK government has awarded GBP 32.9 million (USD 39.7m/EUR 38.3m) in funding to five innovative energy storage projects under the second phase of its Longer Duration Energy Storage competition.
These are the projects.
StorTera
StorTera has secured GBP 5.02 million to create a prototype demonstrator of its single liquid flow battery (SLIQ) technology.
The company’s main product is the SLIQ Flow Battery, for which it gives the headline of Reliable, Economical Energy For 20 Years.
This is a description of the technology.
The revolutionary StorTera SLIQ single liquid flow battery offers a low cost, high performance energy storage system made with durable components and supported by our flexible and adaptable inverter and control system. The StorTera SLIQ battery brings the following benefits/advantages:
- Low levelised cost of storage and capital cost
- Long lifetime of up to 20 years (min. 7,500 cycles)
- Long duration energy with the energy and power capacity easily and independently scalable
- Safe with no cooling requirements and high flash point materials
- Fully recyclable at the end of lifetime
This is said about costs – Using low cost materials and manufacturing techniques, we predict capital costs of approximately £120/kW and £75/kWh by 2022.
I feel there could be something about this technology, but we’ll only know, when the demonstrator is fully working.
Sunamp
Sunamp will get GBP 9.25 million to test its thermal storage system in 100 homes across the UK.
On their home page, Sunamp has a banner of World Leading Thermal Technologies, with this description underneath.
Sunamp designs and manufactures space-saving thermal storage that makes UK homes, buildings and vehicles more energy-efficient and sustainable, while reducing carbon emissions and optimising renewables.
They do appear to have sold something, which is always a useful thing to do.
This page on their web site, describes their Thermino Thermal Storage For Domestic Hot Water, where this is said.
Thousands of Sunamp thermal batteries are already in homes across the UK storing heat from low-carbon energy sources and releasing it for mains-pressure hot water when needed.
Our Thermino batteries replace traditional hot water cylinders – direct (for grid electricity and solar PV) or indirect (for boilers and heat pumps).
They are up to four times smaller than the equivalent hot water tank because they are filled with our energy-dense phase change material, Plentigrade. This means that heat pump systems can be installed where otherwise they wouldn’t fit, for example.
The key seems to be this substance called Plentigrade!
This page on their web site describes Plentigrade.
Under a heading of Storing Energy As Heat And Releasing It When, And Where, It’s Needed, this is said.
Sunamp thermal batteries are energy-saving thermal stores containing Plentigrade: our high-performance phase change materials (PCMs) that deliver heating or cooling reliably, safely and efficiently.
Plentigrade, with its perpetual phase changing ability, is at the core of our products.
Our breakthrough technology was created in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, ranked among the top 20 universities in the world, and the UK’s national synchrotron particle accelerator, Diamond Light Source. To find out more about the chemistry behind Plentigrade, read our blog.
Note.
- This product almost looks to be too good to be true.
- But I’ve checked and it doesn’t seem to have appeared on Watchdog.
- It’s yet another breakthrough, that has used the Diamond Light Source.
- How many other developments would happen with a Diamond 2 in the North, as I wrote about in Blackpool Needs A Diamond?
I have a feeling, that my house needs one of Sunamp’s thermal batteries.
University of Sheffield
The article says this about a grant to the University of Sheffield.
The University of Sheffield has been awarded GBP 2.6 million to develop a prototype modular thermal energy storage system designed to provide optimised, flexible storage of heat within homes.
There are several thermal batteries around for houses.
RheEnergise
The article says this about a grant to RheEnergise.
With a GBP-8.24-million grant, RheEnergise Ltd will build a demonstrator of its High-Density Hydro pumped energy storage system near Plymouth. The technology uses a fluid denser than water to generate electricity from gentle slopes.
I wrote about this in Plan For £8.25m Plymouth Energy Plant To Generate Power From Cream-Like Fluid.
EDF UK R&D
The article says this about a grant to EDF UK R&D.
The government is also backing with GBP 7.73 million an initiative of EDF UK R&D and its partners, the University of Bristol, Urenco and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), to develop a hydrogen storage demonstrator using depleted uranium at UKAEA’s Culham Science Centre in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
I wrote about this in Innovative Hydrogen Energy Storage Project Secures Over £7 million In Funding.
Conclusion
They are a mixed bunch of ideas from around the UK, that I think will produce at least two good winners.
Toyota To Build Hydrogen Fuel Cell Trucks In UK
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
These are the first two paragraphs.
The UK’s first mainstream commercial vehicle to be powered by hydrogen fuel cells will be built at the Toyota plant in Derbyshire, holding out the prospect that the Japanese group will choose Britain as its European manufacturing centre for the next-generation zero-emission technology.
Toyota will announce today that it has chosen Burnaston to produce six prototype hydrogen versions of its popular Hilux pick-up trucks.
It may be only a few vehicles initially, but if Toyota choose Burnaston, as their European manufacturing centre for the next-generation zero-emission technology, this could be large.
Honda’s NSX Factory Is Shifting To Plug-In Hydrogen CR-V Production
The title of this post, is the same as that, of this article on Road and Track.
Centrica And Ryze Agree To Develop Hydrogen Pathway
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.
These are the first three paragraphs.
Centrica and Ryze Hydrogen are set to jointly build and operate hydrogen production facilities aimed at providing a reliable supply of hydrogen for industry and transportation.
Under the landmark agreement the firms will jointly develop hydrogen production projects on existing Centrica sites and work with third-parties to build production on their sites too.
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed and will combine expertise in order to kickstart the development of the UK hydrogen economy, targeting the mobility, industrial and commercial markets.
There are also some other interesting statements in the press release.
- Centrica’s Head of Hydrogen, says that we should be bold in our thinking about hydrogen.
- The partnership will explore how the UK can work with international hydrogen production facilities.
- Jo Bamford, green entrepreneur and Executive Chairman of Ryze, believes that Centrica are very serious about hydrogen.
- Centrica and Ryse will convert some of the British Gas fleet to hydrogen.
I feel this could be a very significant deal for the decarbonisation of the UK.
Hyperion XP-1 Hydrogen Car Unveiled With 1,000-mile Range
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
This is the specification of the hydrogen-powered Hyperion XP-1.
- 1,000 mile range.
- No batteries as it uses supercapacitors.
- Five minute refuelling time
- All-wheel drive
- 221 mph top speed
- 0-to-60 mph in 2.2 seconds
- Weighs just over a tonne
- Carbon-titanium monocoque
- Outrageous styling
Unbelievable!
Innovative Hydrogen Energy Storage Project Secures Over £7 million In Funding
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from the University of Bristol.
These two paragraphs outline the project.
A consortium, involving the University of Bristol, has been awarded £7.7m from the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) of UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to develop pioneering hydrogen storage.
The University, EDF UK, UKAEA and Urenco will together develop a hydrogen storage demonstrator, in which hydrogen is absorbed on a depleted uranium ‘bed’, which can then release the hydrogen when needed for use. When stored, the hydrogen is in a stable but reversible ‘metal hydride’ form. The depleted uranium material is available from recycling and has been used in other applications such as counterbalance weights on aircraft.
I particularly like this paragraph from Professor Tom Scott.
Professor Tom Scott from the University’s School of Physics and one of the architects of the HyDUStechnology, said: “This will be a world first technology demonstrator which is a beautiful and exciting translation of a well proven fusion-fuel hydrogen isotope storage technology that the UK Atomic Energy Authority has used for several decades at a small scale. The hydride compounds that we’re using can chemically store hydrogen at ambient pressure and temperature but remarkably they do this at twice the density of liquid hydrogen. The material can also quickly give-up the stored hydrogen simply by heating it, which makes it a wonderfully reversible hydrogen storage technology.”
It’s elegant and it certainly, is an unusual method of storing hydrogen.
I do see a problem in that depleted uranium is controversial because of its use in munitions; most notably in the Gulf War.
I also see its heavy weight being rather a disadvantage in storing hydrogen for mobile applications.
So, I will keep an open mind on this technology.
Wrightbus Hydrogen Fleet Cover 1,5 Million Miles
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Central.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Leading bus manufacturer Wrightbus’s fleet of hydrogen fuel-cell buses have travelled a staggering 1.5 million miles since first entering service.
This latest milestone from the Ballymena-based firm means the hydrogen fuel-cell fleet has prevented 2,366 tonnes of harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions entering the atmosphere compared to journeys made by an equivalent diesel bus.
It does appear that the company is on the road to a much needed recovery.
AVL RACETECH Builds Hydrogen Combustion Engine For Motorsport
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on Hydrogen Central.
This is the opening paragraph.
AVL RACETECH, the motorsport department of AVL, presents the prototype of an innovative H2 internal combustion engine. The power unit is a compact, hydrogen-powered 2-liter turbo engine, with intelligent water injection that enables it to achieve a totally new performance level. The prototype is the first racing engine that AVL RACETECH is developing and building in-house.
Note.
- The engine has a size of two litres.
- It generates about 150 kW/litre.
- It features water injection.
- It appears to be very interesting technically and has been designed with extensive computer simulation.
AVL RACETECH has a web site, which gives more information.
New Nanomaterial Offers Efficient Hydrogen Production – Just Add Light
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Central.
These are the first two paragraphs.
A new nanomaterial catalyst needs only light to convert ammonia into hydrogen, its developers have said.
Made of inexpensive raw materials, the catalyst was developed by a team from Rice University in Texas, Syzygy Plasmonics Inc., and Princeton University in New Jersey.
I am not surprised, as I am a great believer in the power of catalysts.
In Hydrogen Fuel Cells Could Get A Lot Cheaper With Newly Developed Iron Catalyst, I wrote.
In the early 1970s, I worked with one of ICI’s catalyst experts and he said, that improvements in this area will be large in the future.
Increasingly, I see his prediction being proved right, in the varied fields, where catalysts are used.
It may be over fifty years ago, but then scientific truths don’t fade away and die. They just sit there quietly waiting to be rediscovered.
It is worth looking at the Syzygy Plasmonics web site.
Under a heading of Deep Decarbonisation For Chemical Manufacturing, this is their mission statement.
Syzygy is commercializing a deep-decarbonization platform dedicated to cleaning up the emissions-heavy chemical industry. We use breakthrough technology pioneered in the Laboratory for Nanophotonics at Rice University to harness energy from LED light to power chemical reactions. This new technology has the potential to partially or fully electrify the chemical industry, shifting it to renewable electricity, and cost-effectively reducing its carbon footprint.
The energy transition is here. The time to act is now.
That is some mission statement! But possibly one to expect from Houston.
The Anonymous Widower 