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Tesla Motorcars, funded by 35 year old billionaire/entrepreneur Elon Musk, is jumping through the final hoops of US Gov't approval for safety and durability testing on their 2-door electric Roadster. Once approved, they will be well on their way to rolling out a production model over the next 6-12 months. Accelerating from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds, the Roadster will leave a Porsche Turbo in the dust and almost every Ferrari, but the $92,000 price tag won't make it the everyman's car. But as is common with most new technologies, the prices should come down significantly as their production increases and innovations continue. Their next model, the 4-door White Star will be targeted at a price point of $40-50,000 and their third model is targeted to come in at around $30,000 for the average consumer.
Honda has been consistently innovating their hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle, the FCX, over the last several years. Their next generation FCX is totally redesigned and is nearly identical to what has been shown at auto shows as the driveable Concept FCX. With no established price yet, it will be a limited production model on the road and leased to customers in 2008. Honda has reduced its vehicle production costs by 50% and has consistently refined both its electric motors and fuel cell stacks by making them smaller, lighter, and more efficient. The driving range has increased to 275 miles from the current FCX model’s certified range of 210 miles. The Home Energy Station is now more compact in its third generation and the research and development continues with Plug Power.
It will be at least 6 months until we see either of these cars on the road. But it seems they both will be going into limited production, and hold tremendous promise to lead the next generation of alternative fuel vehicles.
Here's a bit of a surprise: Both the Honda hydrogen fuel cell FCX and the Tesla battery electric Roadster are zero emission ELECTRIC cars. Both cars have electric motors, lithium ion batteries, and no internal combustion engine. What defines whether they are "hydrogen fuel cell" or "battery electric" is (1) how the electric motors get their electricity and (2) how the vehicles store their “fuel.�
Interactive Map Video 1 Video 2 MSN Article FCX Website
The Fuel Cell
Think of them as big batteries, but ones that only operate when fuel—in this case, pure hydrogen—is supplied to them. When it is, an electrochemical reaction takes place between the hydrogen and oxygen that directly converts chemical energy into electrical energy. Various types of fuel cells exist, but the one automakers are primarily focusing on for fuel cell cars is one that relies on a proton-exchange membrane, or PEM. In the generic PEM fuel cell pictured at left, the membrane lies sandwiched between a positively charged electrode (the cathode) and a negatively charged electrode (the anode). In the simple reaction that occurs here rests the hope of engineers, policymakers, and ordinary citizens that someday we'll drive entirely pollution-free cars.
Here's what happens in the fuel cell: When hydrogen gas pumped from the fuel tanks arrives at the anode, which is made of platinum, the platinum catalyzes a reaction that ionizes the gas. Ionization breaks the hydrogen atom down into its positive ions (hydrogen protons) and negative ions (electrons). Both types of ions are naturally drawn to the cathode situated on the other side of the membrane, but only the protons can pass through the membrane (hence the name "proton-exchange"). The electrons are forced to go around the PEM, and along the way they are shunted through a circuit, generating the electricity that runs the car's systems.
Using the two different routes, the hydrogen protons and the electrons quickly reach the cathode. While hydrogen is fed to the anode, oxygen is fed to the cathode, where a catalyst creates oxygen ions. The arriving hydrogen protons and electrons bond with these oxygen ions, creating the two "waste products" of the reaction—water vapor and heat. Some of the water vapor gets recycled for use in humidification, and the rest drips out of the tailpipe as "exhaust." This cycle proceeds continuously as long as the car is powered up and in motion; when it's idling, output from the fuel cell is shut off to conserve fuel, and the current model FCX ultracapacitor takes over to power air conditioning and other components.
A single hydrogen fuel cell delivers a low voltage, so manufacturers "stack" fuel cells together in a series, as in a dry-cell battery. The more layers, the higher the voltage. Electrical current, meanwhile, has to do with surface area. The greater the surface area of the electrodes, the greater the current. One of the great challenges automakers face is how to increase electrical output (voltage times current) to the point where consumers get the power and distance they're accustomed to while also economizing space in the tight confines of an automobile.
(from Nova's website)
Fuel Cell Stack
The FCX Concept's vertical flow "V-Flow" fuel cell stack is a PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) electrical generation device that employs an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) to directly convert chemical energy into electrical energy. Honda has created a clean-running system that is capable of continuous electrical generation when supplied with hydrogen and oxygen, simultaneously generating electricity and water, with no CO2 or other harmful emissions whatsoever.
Lithium Ion Battery
The FCX Concept carries a compact, high-efficiency lithium ion battery, contributing to increased power output and a more compact power plant. These efficiency improvements to major power plant components give the vehicle a travel range approximately 30% greater than the previous FCX.
Co-axial Type Traction Motor
The newly developed coaxial motor gearbox allows for a 162mm shorter length, contributing to the FCX Concept's unique short-nose design. Maximum output has increased to 95kW (an increase of 15kW), and maximum revs of 12,500rpm (an increase of 1,500rpm), producing more output over all rev ranges than the previous FCX.
Hydrogen Tanks
The next generation FCX has been designed for maximum interior space and the tank is behind the rear seat while still allowing for large trunk space. The high pressure hydrogen tank in this vehicle can hold slightly more than 4kg of hydrogen compressed to 5,000 psi, enough to enable a range of 275 miles before refueling.
Interactive Map Video 1 Video 2 Wired Article Roadster Website
The Energy Storage System (ESS)
When we set out to build a high-performance electric car, the biggest challenge was obvious from the start: the battery. Its complexities are clear: it’s heavy, expensive, and offers limited power and range.
The Tesla Roadster’s battery pack — the car’s "fuel tank" — represents the biggest innovation in the Tesla Roadster and is one of the largest and most advanced battery packs in the world. They've combined basic proven lithium ion battery technology with their own proprietary battery pack design to provide multiple layers of safety. It's light, durable, recyclable, and it is capable of delivering enough power to accelerate the Tesla Roadster from zero to 60 mph in approximately four seconds. Meanwhile, the battery stores enough energy for the vehicle to travel more than 200 miles without recharging, something no other production electric vehicle in history can claim.
Motor
The car’s Lamborghini-beating acceleration comes from a motor about the size of a watermelon. And while most car engines have to be moved with winches or forklifts, Tesla's weighs about 70 pounds. More important than the motor’s size or weight is its efficency. Without proper efficiency, a motor will convert electrical energy into heat instead of rotational energy. They designed the motor to have efficiencies of 85 to 95 percent.
Transmission
The Tesla transmission couples the fuel efficiency of a manual with the driving ease of an automatic. The Tesla Roadster has only two forward gears, allowing you to fine-tune your driving experience (but either gear will work for most driving scenarios). Unlike a manual transmission, the car will not stall if you have it in the wrong gear. There's also no clutch pedal. Just move the lever and the electronic control module takes care of the shift, so you can launch from a full stop to freeway speed without taking your focus off the road, your foot off the accelerator, or your hands off the wheel.
Power Electronics Module (PEM)
Most of the subsystems in the Tesla Roadster are completely electronic and under direct software control. But unlike all other cars, these systems are not a hodge-podge of independent systems — instead, they are designed as an integrated system, the way complex network and computer systems are designed today.
You’ll see the hub of this network every time you pop the trunk — the Power Electronics Module. When you shift gears or accelerate in the Tesla Roadster, the PEM translates your commands into precisely timed voltages, telling the motor to respond with the proper speed and direction of rotation. The PEM also controls motor torque, charging, and regenerative braking, and it monitors things like the voltage delivered by the ESS, the speed of rotation of the motor, and the temperatures of the motor and power electronics.
The PEM controls over 200 kW of electrical power during peak acceleration — enough power to illuminate 2,000 incandescent light bulbs.