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| Electriq demonstrated how this small engine runs on water, without actually moving the bicycle. |
IN the quest to provide the world’s drivers with alternatives to expensive fossil fuels, hydrogen seems the answer.
From an engineering perspective, hydrogen holds a lot more energy per kilogram than electric batteries, the gas matches current refuelling expectations in terms of speed and range, and of course the tailpipe emits only water.
This is why Toyota and Hyundai are making hydrogen fuel-cell cars and Nikola have launched
hydrogen trucks.
hydrogen trucks.
From a manufacturer’s perspective, however, producing hydrogen in industrial quantities is a polluting nightmare that requires a lot of electricity to super-heat brown coal or natural gas, all to deliver an end product that has less energy than the gas one started with, plus emitting rather a lot of toxic carbon monoxide, which needs more heat to change to climate-changing C02.
And as the smallest molecule, hydrogen is also very difficult to transport and store, requiring super cooling, high pressures, or conversion to ammonia, as Australia is now doing with a membrane designed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Once the ammonia is delivered, the membrane separates ultra-high purity hydrogen while blocking all other gases
All of which is a lot of trouble to make electricity in a car, which is why electric car maker Elon Musk famously said using electricity to make hydrogen to make electricity is a very dumb idea.
But Musk may now change his view, thanks to an Israeli-Australian start-up Electriq Global, formerly known as Terragenic, which last month announced a new version of portable hydrogen at the EcoMotion 2018 Smart Mobility Summit in Tel-Aviv.
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| Electriq Global CEO Guy Michrowski |
Electriq Global CEO Guy Michrowski has since told Electec in the Netherlands their hydrogen is 60% water, and the process has three key elements — the liquid fuel (Electriq Fuel), which reacts with a catalyst (Electriq Switch) to release hydrogen on demand; and the exhausted fuel, which is captured and taken back to an Electriq Recycling plant, to be replenished with hydrogen for re-use. Michrowski said Electriq Global’s global roll-out requires very little specialised infrastructure, unlike super-cooled or compressed hydrogen systems. “The new technology changes the rules of the game in many fields, including transportation and energy storage. Electriq’s water-based liquid fuel is stable at room temperature and pressure.
“Our system releases hydrogen on demand from the Electriq Fuel, when the liquid comes into contact with a catalyst, the reaction releases hydrogen that is harnessed to create electricity and power the vehicle.
“Our fuel is safe, economical, and recyclable. We take the old depleted fuel and put more hydrogen back in, which makes new fuel that can be used again and again. As the technology is adopted, fuel companies will become partners in our open source, zero-emission fuel. The goal is to have Electriq Fuel available at your local petrol station,” he said.
He said when compared to green energy competitors like lithium-ion batteries or compressed hydrogen technologies, Electriq achieves twice the range at half the cost.
A comparison of electric buses showed the buses powered by batteries provided a range of 250 km and required up to 300 minutes to recharge, whereas buses powered by Electriq Fuel achieved a range of 1 100 km and could be refueled in five minutes.
