A Dutch-sponsored researcher has discovered that an alloy of magnesium, titanium and nickel could get us closer to more efficient and safe hydrogen cars. The alloy is great at absorbing hydrogen and a tank of the material could be up to 60% lighter than a battery pack that covers the same distance.
Current hydrogen storage tanks that have proven secure are very heavy and have so far limited the amount of hydrogen that could be stored in a vehicle, which limits its possible distance per tank. Robin Gremaud, the researcher responsible for this discovery, compared the weight necessary for a 400 kilometer trip using batteries and this new alloy tank. The trip required 317 kilograms of lithium batteries and 200 kilograms for the hydrogen tank.
While still not as light as researchers are trying for, it's still a great improvement and shows that advances are being made.
via Treehugger
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written by Andrew Leinonen, November 06, 2008
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written by Flahooler, November 06, 2008
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NOV 06
"Wow...that's not even comparing apples to oranges...it's more like app..."
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