On August 2, 2012 I wrote about how APFCT (Asia Pacific Fuel Cell Technologies) hydrogen fuel cell scooters were becoming commercial-ready in Taiwan. Some 30 fuel cell scooters were driven over 120,000 kilometers around the cities and mountains of Taiwan in order to make sure they were ready for prime time.
And now Hawaii at least thinks they are ready for prime time. A couple of attractive features about fuel cell scooters is that they are zero emission vehicles, they have 3 times the range of battery-electric scooters and no fuel has to be imported to run them as it the case with gasoline-powered scooters.
According to Honolulu Civil Beat, “While small, gasoline-powered scooters might seem to be the least of the state’s worries when it comes to trying to reduce its dependence on imported fuel and lower carbon dioxide emissions, they’re actually one of the most noxious vehicles on the road, according to Guy Toyama, CEO of H2 Technologies.
“They release about 1,000 times the pollution of a standard, five-passenger car, he said, and unlike most vehicles, their carbon emissions aren’t regulated.
“The hydrogen scooters can travel 50 miles at 35 miles per hour — their top speed — on two small canisters of hydrogen. Like other scooters, they don’t go fast enough to make them highway capable. The can also be charged by solar panels, which would eliminate the need for hydrogen fueling stations.”
So, for the naysayers who said that hydrogen fuel cell forklifts would never take off, look at where they are now – commercialized and selling really well. And at this moment we have a hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicle, the scooter, which is just on the cusp of commercialization as well. Naysayers cover your ears. This is only the beginning of a larger global trend that is not going away any time soon.
Glad to see those bikes finally making it.
You might be interested in this:
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2012/08/24/ibn.develops.superior.fuel.cell.material