Hydrogen Power International Inc., formerly Equitex Inc., announced that its subsidiary, Hydrogen Power Inc., has successfully completed the first phase of converting an internal combustion engine vehicle to a hydrogen hybrid, ultimately to be powered by AlumiFuel for on-board hydrogen production. The conversion marks a milestone in the company's efforts to address the automotive and transportation sectors with its hydrogen production technology.
HPI's advancements in the Seattle-based laboratory production facility have been rapid since proving both HPI's Hydrogen Now technology and AlumiFuel powder as viable and controllable entities. Hydrogen Now is HPI's patented hydrogen production process that involves a chemical reaction between water, aluminum, and an environmentally friendly catalyst to cleanly and efficiently produce hydrogen on-site and on-demand. High energy density AlumiFuel technology, a product derivative of the Hydrogen Now process, powers the chemical reaction. It extracts and releases the energy from the aluminum once the water is added. AlumiFuel's potential employability extends to a wide range of applications, but HPI is currently focused on its applications in the transportation and automotive markets.
Key problems faced by other hydrogen conversion methods for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, such as cost, storage and safety, are addressed by AlumiFuel technology. First, water is added to AlumiFuel in a reactor to generate heat and hydrogen gas on-board and on-demand. Hydrogen is produced only as needed, addressing safety concerns and improving efficiency (supplementing the core efficiency advantages of the process, which requires no additional energy for the compression of hydrogen or energy consumption for the creation of hydrogen).
The container requirements of the AlumiFuel reactor enhance its appeal, initially established by the cost and availability of the technology's feedstock, aluminum. The vessel used for hydrogen production weighs heavily in the cost of a hydrogen-powered vehicle. Instead of the typical 10,000psi tank of other methods, HPI's reactor and tank are more cost-effective because pressures are less than 150psi.
Hybrid vehicles, with lower emissions and an improved fuel economy, have a rapidly growing demand and are increasing market traction. More than 205,000 hybrid-electric cars were sold in the
In order to get the wheels in motion using AlumiFuel on board an ICE vehicle, HPI's first mission was to convert an ICE vehicle to a hydrogen hybrid. These preliminary steps are complete, and HPI scientists announced that the 2006 Ford Ranger XL truck has been converted to run on hydrogen under a dual fuel system that allows the driver to select either gasoline or hydrogen. Dependent on preference or fuel availability, the rotation between the two fuel sources is achieved instantly and seamlessly. The installation of the supplementary hydrogen production system involved the addition of a second set of injectors, high-pressure hydrogen tanks, regulator, a hydrogen control system, and other available off-the-shelf products. The conversion system is adaptable to more than 90 percent of current American-made vehicles, and with slight modifications can be made to work with virtually any modern vehicle.
The system is also environmentally friendly. HPI's hydrogen-hybrid system emits no greenhouse gases.
Although the conversion of ICE vehicles has become more frequent over the last decade, significant problems have impeded its widespread adoption. HPI intends to address these problems - mainly cost, storage, and safety - by taking its successful conversion to the next level using AlumiFuel technology. The completion of Phase I of the "H2Go" Project has been yet another green light on the road to commercialization potential in the automotive market, where HPI's on-board and on-demand technology is well suited. HPI's management estimates there are more than 200 million automobiles and a like number of other vehicles in the
Given the ease of storage and distribution, as well as its customized production capability, HPI's AlumiFuel and Hydrogen Now technology are intended to bypass infrastructure and cost barriers to commercial adoption. With the hydrogen-power conversion on the Ford Ranger complete, HPI's next step will be to integrate the AlumiFuel powered reactor with the truck to provide an on-board, on-demand hydrogen supply.
