Hydrogen and the Internal Combustion Engine

San Diego, Calif. - Prior to the WestStart Clean Heavy Duty Vehicle Conference, there was a related symposium on site in San Diego, "Why Hydrogen: A Commercial Perspective". Keynote speaker Andy Abele (Executive Director, Strategic Development Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide) delivered an informative presentation on the hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine (HICE) as a bridge to fuel cell technology.
As part of its transportation technology program, Quantum is developing and distributing hydrogen-fueled Priuses to five cities in California and also developing light, medium, and heavy-duty HICE vehicles. This includes testing with hydrogen/natural gas blends as well as straight hydrogen fuels.
Although HICE technology offers many of the advantages of fuel cells for transportation at a fraction of the current cost for fuel cell propulsion, it also faces a number of the same challenges.
Ethanol is a renewable liquid fuel that is already being used with gasoline, using the existing fuel infrastructure.
Biodiesel offers similar benefits in the diesel arena.
Hydrogen remains a gaseous fuel that relies on an alternative fueling infrastructure: will it be more readily accepted than natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas? In order for hydrogen to succeed - either for HICE or fuel cell applications - it needs a combination of: technology advancement in solving problems of range, longevity and cost; policy support, to encourage and drive market acceptance; funding - specifically cost sharing of R&D, capital costs and infrastructure deployment; and consistency in certification, standards and permitting. -