Japan to Test Fuel Cell-Powered Train

[ozymandius]

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's biggest rail company will soon test using fuel cells to help power a train, following the lead of automakers in rolling out cleaner, more efficient transportation.

Pollution-free fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, producing only water vapor as exhaust.

East Japan Railways Co., which serves the congested Tokyo area and carries 16 million passengers a day, will start test runs of the NE Train, or New Energy Train, in July with the aim of operating it on regular tracks by the middle of next year.

The initial train will consist of a single car powered by electric batteries and capable of traveling at up to 62 miles per hour. A diesel-run generator will provide most of the electricity, with two 65-kilowatt hydrogen fuel cells chipping in about a third.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060414/japan_hybrid_train.html?.v=2">more...

[Ready4Change]

1. How is the Hydrogen generated?

Hydrogen fuel cells are always touted as pollution-free. But it takes energy to break that hydrogen free from its bonds with other chemicals. And then, transporting hydrogen is notoriously difficult, as the tiny H molecules tend to leak from most any container. So some efficiency is lost, there.

It'll be interesting, to me, to see how much H is lost in actual operation.

[ozymandius]

2. I doubt it is done the Bush way.

Bush's energy strategy would have extracted Hydrogen from fossil fuels.

I have read about seperating Hydrogen atoms from water through an electrical process that is offered as a clean extraction method. The details are missing from teh story.

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

3. You can run a fuel cell off diesel

or any other hydrocarbon. The fuel is run through a reformer that splits off the hydrogen - but you still have carbon dioxide and a few other byproducts to deal with. Not a clean as a hydrogen fuel cell - but cleaner than burning the fuel as thery do now in diesel electric locomotives.

[SlipperySlope]

5. You are quite astute

Good for you for being aware of this, make sure your friends are aware of it too.

Hydrogen isn't a source of energy like Oil or Coal. We can't just mine hydrogen and use it to power our industry. Hydrogen is more a way of storing energy (like a battery).

That energy still has to come from somewhere, be it a coal-fired power plant, a diesel generator, or an array of solar panels.

I do see this advantage though: We could use domestic energy production to produce hydrogen, and develop the infrastructure to run our cars and trucks on it, then we would have achieved a higher degree of independence than we have now.

[Bigmack]

4. Headline: "US Tests Horse/Buggy"....

Shit... our country's headed back to the 14th century anyway. We might as well go all the way.

[file83]

6. LOL

:rofl:

[Tiggeroshii]

7. Japan to test fuel cell powered train

Japan to Test Fuel Cell-Powered Train

By HANS GREIMEL, Associated Press Writer
Fri Apr 14, 8:56 AM ET



TOKYO - Japan's biggest rail company will soon test using fuel cells to help power a train, following the lead of automakers in rolling out cleaner, more efficient transportation.
Pollution-free fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, producing only water vapor as exhaust.

East Japan Railways Co., which serves the congested Tokyo area and carries 16 million passengers a day, will start test runs of the NE Train, or New Energy Train, in July with the aim of operating it on regular tracks by the middle of next year.

The initial train will consist of a single car powered by electric batteries and capable of traveling at up to 62 miles per hour. A diesel-run generator will provide most of the electricity, with two 65-kilowatt hydrogen fuel cells chipping in about a third.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060414/ap_on_bi_ge/japan_hybrid_train