Fuel of the future?

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Ohio State's Center for Automotive Research always has prided itself on its innovative thinking.

After all, CAR, as the center is called, is where world’s fastest electric car, the Buckeye Bullet, was developed.

Recently, the center added another feather to its cap: a hydrogen refueling station, the only one in Ohio and one of only about 15 nationwide.

"The Center for Automotive Research has been involved in alternative fuels and energy since the beginning of its life in 1991," says Giorgio Rizzoni, the center's director. "We've had a number of major milestones over the years, but none as big and important as the unveiling of the hydrogen refueling station."

Like much in life, hydrogen fuel is simple in theory, harder in reality.

“There are a lot of promises in hydrogen as a fuel, but the hydrogen economy doesn’t exist yet,” says Yann Guezennec, professor of mechanical engineering.

Hydrogen fuel is "a very old technology," Guezennec says. "It sat on the shelf for almost a century and a half because we didn't have the means to effectively turn this into a reality and a product."

“Demonstration programs such as this are an important step to pave the way to the future.”

Using a borrowed Ford test car as a model, CAR researchers have converted a golf cart and short-distance vehicle to run on hydrogen.

"Fuel cells provide extremely large efficiency compared to everything else we use for energy conversion in this world," Guezennec says. "Many people the world over have thought that fuel cells will actually provide a pathway towards a sustainable future."

Related links:

The Ohio State University College of Engineering

The Ohio State University Center for Automotive Research

Energy Services and Sustainability at Ohio State

Office of Undergraduate Research at Ohio State

(video/text: University Marketing Communications)

The history of hydrogen fuel:

• The first fuel cell was created in 1839 by Sir William Robert Grove, a Welsh judge, inventor and physicist. It didn't produce enough energy to be successful.
• In 2003, President Bush announced a five-year, $1.2 billion plan to fund hydrogen fuel research. "America is addicted to oil," he said.
• The fuel cell-powered Honda FCX has been leased to one California family and some cities, according to ConsumerReports.org, which took the car on a test drive. Its impression: "Despite its high-tech makeup, the FCX felt fairly normal to drive."