Japanese invent car that runs on water (interest, areas, price) - Economics - City-Data Forum

baystater · 06-13-2008, 08:26 AM

Petrol pricey? Japanese invent car that runs on water - Yahoo! News (broken link)

Genepax unveils water energy fuel cell system - Fuel Cell Today (http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/online/news/articles/2008-06/Genepax-unveils-water-energy-fuel-cell - broken link)

Ummmmmmmmm?

Did anybody know about this? And seriously do you think this is for real?

BLAZER PROPHET · 06-13-2008, 08:38 AM

If it is for real, it's pretty darn interesting.

Shuffler · 06-13-2008, 08:43 AM

any bets on big oil interests squashing this, like they did with the EV-1 back in the 90s?

baystater · 06-13-2008, 08:44 AM

Translated version of http://b.hatena.ne.jp/gomis/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genepax.co.jp%2F

I got somewhat of a translated page (I think) on how the battery system works.

Niners fan · 06-13-2008, 08:48 AM

I am afraid we will see the rise of Big Water!

baystater · 06-13-2008, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shuffler

any bets on big oil interests squashing this, like they did with the EV-1 back in the 90s?

The only chance that it won't is that it's not an American invention. We will see.

Shuffler · 06-13-2008, 09:14 AM

Or, like many foreign high-efficiency vehicles, it won't be available on U.S. soil...we shall see...

cdelena · 06-13-2008, 10:44 AM

Purdue University has developed a method to extract hydrogen but don't expect the process to be in autos anytime soon. It probably would require a refill of metal pellets at the same tome you fill up with water...

PhysOrg is reporting on a method of releasing hydrogen from water by oxidizing aluminum in an alloy with gallium. In the presence of water the aluminum oxidizes, leaving aluminum oxide, gallium, and hydrogen gas. The Purdue scientists who discovered the effect think this could help to overcome difficulties with hydrogen storage. Quoting: 'On its own, aluminum will not react with water because it forms a protective skin [of aluminum oxide] when exposed to oxygen. Adding gallium keeps the film from forming, allowing the aluminum to react with oxygen in the water.'"

cobolt · 06-13-2008, 11:01 AM

This isn't going to fly in areas where water is an issue (AZ, CA, etc). You watch. The powers that be will either find a way to squelch this altogether or will raise the price of water to the point where you're skipping showers so that you can drive to work! You know the drill!

Briolat21 · 06-13-2008, 11:23 AM

Only way this would be GOOD going forward is if you could use Salt water - which means the process would have to either be modified to not be stopped by the presence of salt, or means they'd have to do desalination affordably.

If this was to run on freshwater - it would be a DISASTER due to all the water shortages it would cause.

But - if you could use sea water - it would be great!