What is happening now? Has the world gone completely mad? Recently, it looks like the Big Oil companies are creating technology to help consumers use less oil. What up with this?
Shell Oil has announced that they will be using Hawaiian algae to create biodiesel fuel. And, Exxon has announced two different technologies that will lessen the consumption of oil.
A couple of weeks ago, ExxonMobil announced that they have developed a new thin film separator for lithium-ion batteries for electric, hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. This new technology will make the batteries safer, more powerful and more reliable and most of all aid in the advancement of electric-powered vehicles, which will elbow out oil-burning vehicles.
This week ExxonMobil has announced that they have teamed up with QuestAir, Plug Power, Inc. and Ben-Gurion University to create an on-vehicle hydrogen on demand system for lift trucks, that if successful could be developed for other vehicles as well. The on-demand system could use hydrocarbon fuels or it could use ethanol, biodiesel and other biofuels as the source for hydrogen.
The Big Oil companies have been accused of greenwashing in the past, which is trying to project themselves to the public as going green, while only making half-hearted attempts to do so. But, perhaps, the oil companies are finally getting smart and double-dipping from both the traditional oil market and the alternative fuel market.
By playing it on both ends there will be profits to be made and as long as there are tangible results on the alternative fuel end, we all will benefit with cleaner air and greater energy independence.
Since our energy infrastructure is petroleum based, it makes sense that the oil companies are involved in developing alternative sources. They have a vested interest in helping our nation transition to new fuels. Market demands better influence companies to develop new ideas much better than inflation producing government mandates. Personally, I would love to see our nation develop hydrogen combustion vehicles. (I don’t forsee fuel cells and other types of batteries ever replacing powerful combustion engines.) Just a few thoughts…
the electric utilities tried and failed with natural gas reformers and chrysler has same results with gasoline reformers. The contaminates trash out the fuel cell. The only way to get hydrogen pure enough to not trash the fuel cell is to liquify it. Cryogenic hydrogen works with fuel cells and reformers DO NOT.
The only hold up getting fuel cells into cars is getting the fuel cell to fail after 10 years or 100,000 miles. Reformer tech aint even close to that mark.
The hydrogen lie exposed
Hydrogen was used to help kill battery electric car before. REMEMBER E V1.
If exxon wants a reformer, need to concentrate on a service procedure to clean the contaminates from the fuel cell .
Read the evaluation of the hydrogen mass transit busses and then comment on future of hydrogen.
Gallon of gasoline 125,000 btu
Takes 2 pounds of hydrogen to equel that.
Fuel cell only 50% fuel efficient.
Why destroy good gasoline when we have several engines that get better than 50% fuel efficiency on gasoline and several other fuels as well.
Cyclone 60%, JTEC 60% , jirnov vortex turbine 60% and several more.