For many years now, electric vehicle advocates and hydrogen car enthusiasts have been at each other’s throats in regard to which alternative vehicle will be given the nod by the public at large. This week President Obama gave a wink and a smile to the EV corner as he pulled the rug out from under the hydrogen car crowd in regard to Federal funding.
But, in steps a company, EnerFuel that says both technologies are necessary moving forward. Because EVs typically have a short range and long recharging times, one solution is to add on a range extender.
EnerFuel, a subsidiary of Ener1 has developed a hydrogen fuel cell range extender for electric vehicles. Currently this high temperature fuel cell has been tested in its conceptual form by both Ford and General Motors.
The fuel cell stack weighs around 175 pounds and delivers 20 kw of electricity to the vehicle’s onboard battery system. Another subsidiary of Ener1 called EnerDel may be supplying lithium ion batteries to electric car maker Fisker. Now, Fisker plans to sell around 15,000 electric cars per year in the U. S. market. Perhaps Fisker would be a client for the EnerFuel hydrogen fuel cell?
Anyway you look at it the collaboration of hydrogen fuel cell and electric vehicle is a pretty good match. Both systems compliment each other. Let’s just hope moving forward this partnership continues rather than being driven apart by inflexible interests on both sides.