Gas-hydrogen hybrid supercar

[smib]

A Texas company is offering a glimpse of a high-end hydrogen-gasoline sportscar it hopes to sell by the fall.

Rather than using fuel cells to power an electric motor, the Scorpion from Ronn Motor Company would have an internal combustion engine burning both gasoline and hydrogen, achieving 40 highway miles per gallon.

Unlike with a hydrogen fuel cell car, the Scorpion's "hydrogen on demand" system wouldn't require a high-pressure hydrogen storage tank. Nor would a driver need to find and fill up at a hydrogen fueling station.

Instead, electricity from the Scorpion's alternator sends an electric charge through the water in a storage tank, fracturing molecules and releasing hydrogen, which is injected into the motor, explained Ronn Maxwell, CEO of Ronn Motor in Horseshoe Bay, Texas.

"This means that as we're driving down the road, we're producing hydrogen in real time, and blending it with gasoline at a ratio of 30 to 40 percent," he said.

...

The hydrogen internal combustion engine can achieve between 30 to 50 percent greater efficiency over standard gasoline cars, Maxwell added. Under the hood is a 2009 Acura 3.5 Vtech motor with 280-horsepower stock, or 450-horsepower with a twin turbo option. The car has a 6-speed manual transmission.

Source.

Some of the comments argue the validity of the car, I don't understand this stuff well enough to make a decision, but I'm sure some of you do, or will make lots of statements even if you don't.

[DTMracer]

I'll take this news with a bag of salt.

Would be epic if they can pull it off.

[prizrak]

Yeah this seems like it would need a pretty serious electric powerplant in order to produce enough H. IIRC electrolysis process is not particularly quick.

[Crazyjeeper]

If it works, that is the coolest thing evar.

[chaos386]

Burning gasoline to split water only to burn it back into water again is horribly inefficient, but on the other hand, adding hydrogen to gasoline raises its octane number, which could increase the efficiency of burning the fuel in the first place.

I'd still wait for real-world tests, though.

[fbc]

I can't help but wonder if it's as simple as this guy says it is, why have the large manufacturers missed it? I know things like that happen, but it just makes me wonder.

Do want it to be true though.

[Suedschleife]

Must be a Hoax. Electrolysis run by current from the alternator provides enough current for a 40% hydrogen mix? Wow that must be one powerful alternator.

"The hydrogen internal combustion engine can achieve between 30 to 50 percent greater efficiency over standard gasoline cars..." Riiiight

[torrent_rider]

Originally Posted by fbc

I can't help but wonder if it's as simple as this guy says it is, why have the large manufacturers missed it?
Do want it to be true though.

BMW has a 7-Series as seen on Jay Lenos Garage:http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/...tml?vid=190254

It seems simple to do, but there is virtually no distribution system in place to be common and safe enough at this point and you do have bleed off if you just let the car sit. So it seems that although it is possible at this point, it is not yet practical

[The Fishman]

I don't care how quick it is, I just want it to look better than a Toyota Prius.

I love the Smart 4/2 (Australian version). If they would release the EV version or a hybrid.

Speed is exciting but it is not as exhilarating as cruising down the 'high' street in a Bugatti Veyron.

[JCE]

I'm definately interested. And the rear shot looks fantastic.

[argatoga]

The trick which I think would work best for hydrogen production is teaming it up with nuclear power. Build a nuclear power plant and have it just produce hydrogen (or better yet switch all our power plants to nuclear and have some produce it outside of peak power). It can't cost too much to run a nuclear power plant once it has been built and is operational.

[Electric-Mayhem]

The Hydrogen added to Gas thing is one of the better ways of increasing gas mileage that I can find right now. There are several companies, all the way from total homegrown style all the way up to fully engineered systems, that offer a Hydrogen Booster system. Combining Hydrogen with Fuel allows the burning process to be much more efficient and complete, hence making more power for less gas used. Here are a couple websites that offer DIY and Commercially available systems:

http://www.smacksboosters.110mb.com/

and

http://www.gethydropower.com/index.html

If you read through the smackboosters one, with about $50us you can make your own Hydrogen booster using commonly found hardware and chemicals. Its not a straight water solution, but its not that expensive either and will be more then covered by the MPG increase. The system uses about 20-25 amps, so depending on your alternator you may need a beefier one. You'll also have to refill the chemical fluid once a week or so, but thats not a big deal.

Also, modern fuel injected cars don't take as well to this as older carburated cars because their emissions ECU can sense the difference and will alter the fuel to bring it back to where the manufacturer has set it, thus negating adding the Hydrogen to make it more efficient. This just means you would have to find a way to have the ECU tuned to use the extra Hydrogen.

Lastly, is the issue of safety and Hydrogen being rather flammable and explosive. When in use the engine will use up any Hydrogen produced, but when not in use the Hydrogen can build up. Luckily, with producing Hydrogen in this way, it only works when electricity is provided to the system, so hooking it up so that energy is only provided when the ignition is switched on, thus stopping the production of Hydrogen when the car is off. Also, putting the booster itself in a well ventilated place in the engine bay and creating a release valve of sorts will increase safety.

All of the above stuff is explained rather well on the smackbooster site. The other site provides a higher volume and more heavily researched version, that will cost quite a bit more and take up a lot more space, but created quite a bit more Hydrogen too. Interesting stuff for sure.

JH