Flixxy.com Reader Comment - H2O Water Powered Car   
 

I collaborated with my Chinese engineer friend on the diagram your site presented for the water powered car.

I have a major in the life sciences (including the study of semi-permeable membranes, as are used in fuel cells) and minor in Chemistry.

He translated the Japanese to Chinese and then into English, so I could determine the chemical-electric steps in the process.

He has many years with GE as a specialist in conversion of wind energy to electrical energy.

 

This is basically a fuel cell.  In a NASA-type, regular fuel cell, the H2 is provided to the fuel cell stack from a tank of H2.

The difference in this car is that a chemical reaction is used on the water to provide the H2.

In the diagram, this takes place in the first part of the diagram (on the left).

 

Not knowing what the chemical reaction is, we believe this will likely work, especially to provide 300 Watts of power, that the article indicates.

This is the power to light three (3) 100 watt light bulbs.  Not a lot of power, but enough to drive this light car at 50 mph, a good achievement.

 

For comparison, the NiMH (Nickel-Metal Hydride) battery in my 2004 Toyota Prius is a 1.3 Kilowatt (1300 watt) battery.  It will move a much heavier car under certain conditions.  It was not designed to exclusively power the car, although by adding a large after-market battery, it can become a plug-in hybrid, which can run for 35 to 100 miles at 35 mph on the battery alone.

 

The new Toyota Fuel Cell Vehicle I drove at the 2008 Orange County (CA) Auto Show has a 7.2 Kilo-watt battery (7200 watt) battery, per the Toyota engineer that accompanied me on the test drive.  The performance is strong, what most people would expect of a Toyota Highlander SUV (gas or hybrid).

 

Thus, the water-powered car actually involves a chemical step.  Just water is not going to power the car, per the manufacturer’s diagram and information in Japanese.  The cost of this alternative will be dependent on the cost of chemical needed.  This will be compared to the cost of gasoline.

 

The marketing acceptance for the US market will be if it delivers the acceleration Americans want.  After paying many decades of attention to US auto marketing, I know that Americans want power to put their foot into.

 

The well-funded Honda and Toyota fuel cell vehicles started development in the early 2000s.  Honda will field a limited production, lease-only vehicle in 2009.  The Toyota engineer I made the test drive with said Toyota is planning for release in 2012, though it may be sooner.  He said they are on the fifth generation fuel cell vehicle, in the development.  The major manufacturers want to produce a vehicle that will sell, and conversely, know the marketing damage of a flop that the public does not accept.  But, the American public is getting more accepting with every more expensive tank fill-up.

 

Jon Bailey