US Fuel Cell Council asks for $1.2 billion to help fuel cells gain a foothold

Filed under: Hydrogen , Legislation and Policy , USA Federal funds for the auto industry are being handed out left and right these days, and the US Fuel Cell Council thinks that the Feds should find $1.2 billion for a Fuel Cell Stimulus Plan. The USFCC says that the money will create an estimated 24,000 jobs as well as “put hundreds of fuel cell vehicles and up to 100 megawatts of fuel cell power into customers’ hands, reap efficiency, environmental and security benefits and create green jobs and high-tech manufacturing capacity for the American economy.” Specifically, the Council thinks the government should: Deploy fuel cells ($100 million) Build American manufacturing capacity ($100 million) Expand learning demonstrations ($375 million) Improve Federal fuel cell investment tax incentives (no price tag given) Stimulate fuel cell deployment by supporting a fueling infrastructure ($65 million) Accelerate research in partnership with industry ($350 million) Invest in fuel cell transit ($180 million) Include fuel cells in Obama’s energy initiative (no price tag given) You can read the full USFCC proposal here ( page 2 ) and in the two-page gallery below. Green Car Congress reminds us that last July, a National Research Council study estimated that it would take about $200 billion between now and 2023 to make fuel cell vehicles competitive with gas-powered ones, and the government would have to pay about $55 of that.

New Holland to show first fuel cell powered tractor in February

Filed under: Hydrogen Agricultural equipment maker New Holland will be unveiling what it claims is the first fuel cell-powered tractor at a French trade show in February. The tractor is based on the existing T6000 unit with a hydrogen fuel cell electric drive system replacing the conventional diesel powertrain. New Holland apparently collaborated with Fiat and Iveco to develop the new drive train

GM delivers 100th fuel cell Chevy Equinox for Project Driveway

Filed under: Hydrogen , Chevrolet , GM It’s been just over a year since General Motors launched its Project Driveway fuel cell field test program. In the 14 months the program has been putting fuel cell powered Chevy Equinoxes in the hands of regular customers, those drivers have accumulated 500,000 miles on the vehicles. Over 3,400 people have gotten behind the wheel, either as part of the project’s two month loans or during drives that are held as part of events around the country.

Will direct methanol fuel cell beat li-ion plug-in hybrids in the long run?

Filed under: Emerging Technologies , EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , Green Daily Methanol fuel cells are not a brand new technology (see our 2007 interview with Smart Fuel Cells ), but they are most certainly not the best-known gasoline alternative. Over at the Huffington Post , Patrick Takahashi is trying to change how we think of direct methanol fuel cells by comparing them to the future of lithium-ion batteries used in plug-in hybrids. He writes: Per unit volume, a fuel cell should be able to provide five times more energy than the lithium battery

Biodiesel adventure goes around the world in 360 days on 6,504 liters of cooking oil

Filed under: Biodiesel , Green Culture , Green Daily It took almost a full year, but the Biodiesel Adventure team has made it around the world on biodiesel.

Hyundai Aims for 35 mpg Average by 2015

Hyundai Motor America announced today that it will be able to achieve a fleet average of 35 miles per gallon…

2008 LA Auto Show: Top 7 Hybrids

Hybrids will take center stage at 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show, which opens to the public on Nov. 21. Thirty…

AutoblogGreen for 11.27.08

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green

Ahhh, the politics of green cars. A tricky subject, to be sure. I mean,…

GM’s fuel cell HydroGen4 hits the streets in Berlin

Filed under: Hydrogen, GM, Germany

With Project Driveway running along in the US,…

Honda starts FCX leases in Japan, kids targeted

Filed under: Hydrogen, Honda, Green Daily, Japan

Deliveries of the US-spec FCX Clarity took place back in July and since then…