Hybrid Hyperbole?
HYBRID HYPERBOLE?
INTELLIGENT ENERGY Corp. unveiled its new ENY hybrid hydrogen fuel-cell motorbike at Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California, this past June.
ENV stands for Environmentally Neutral Vehicle, and they would like us to pronounce it "Envy." This twowheeler is powered by a removable CORE Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell and a set of four 12-volt leadacid batteries. An 8-horsepower electric motor drives the rear wheel at a 6:1 ratio. For acceleration (0-30 in 7.3 seconds, top speed of 50 mph), power comes from both fuel cell and batteries, but the 1.3hp fuel cell alone supplies cruise and battery-charging power. Range is “at least 100
miles.” The estimated price is $6000.
Company literature reveals that six hydrogen refueling stations exist in California, and more are planned. ENV thus does not yet have a purpose, although refueling is said to cost less than $4. Why does it exist?
Intelligent Energy’s “most significant investor” is Yukos Oil of Russia. IE’s “primary market focus is in distributive power solutions,” meaning small fuel-cell power sources for use in areas lacking access to grid power. The company bought the fuel-cell technologies of England’s respected Loughborough University, and its hope is that “small hightechnology firms (may) still outsmart the established giants of the auto sector.” ENV is thus a high-style, green advertisement for their expertise-and an interesting project.
Sadly, Intelligent Energy’s website misleadingly says, “Concerns over security of energy supply, dwindling solid and liquid fuel reserves coupled with environmental degradation all point toward our most abundant element-hydrogen-as an alternative fuel.” Only at the very end does the press kit reveal, “Hydrogen is an energy carrier, not an energy source.” Hydrogen must either be stripped from petroleum or biomass hydrocarbons, or electric power must be used to electrolyze it from water-there is no “abundant” free hydrogen. It costs more energy to liberate hydrogen than is recoverable as useful power. Think of hydrogen as a “battery” in which energy obtained from other sources (oil, grid power, solar) can be stored for clean use.
Kevin Cameron
