ITM Power plc, a U.K. company, has introduced a hydrogen home refueling electrolyser that promises to produce enough hydrogen overnight to take a duel fuel Ford Focus 25 miles. Eight years in development, the electrolyser uses a polymer membrane (also known as PEM which stands for both Polymer Electrolyte Membrane or Photon Exchange Membrane) intsead the more expensive platinum-plated membrane. Electrolysers and fuel cells traditionaly employ a platinum-plated membranes which are considered a cost impediment to wide adoption of hydrogen powered vehicles.
Company CEO Jim Healthcote said that the system has moved out "research and feasibility" so the company can begin talking with manufacturers. The company is also using the hydrogen for heating, cooking and refrigeration at a "hydrogen apartment" in its Sheffield facility. As well, the hydrogen powers a generator to provide electricity.
For all hydrogen’s doubters who I hear from regularly, the momentum behind hydrogen is really hitting the gas (pun intended). I can imagine the doubters also believed in 1979 that there could never be a personal computer or in 1993, something like the Internet. What ITC appears to have done is create a technology that can be refined over time to produce more hydrogen over time at a lower cost. I have pinged them to get specific cost and production figures.
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
Plastic may not be the most beloved of materials to the more environmentally minded, but Plasti 2012 aimed to mold a different opinion of the material in people's minds.
The rare earth element market has become steadily more rational, and new sources coming online will continue to reduce costs. Still, it is unlikely that prices will drop to their former lows.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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