Cella Energy Developing Nanomaterial Capable of Storing Hydrogen; Doesn’t Need to Be Pressurized or Cooled; ‘Micro-Beads’ Could Be Pumped Like Liquid
January 28th, 2011This sounds like a somewhat interesting process; not anything to get excited about, yet, of course, but interesting to watch nonetheless.
Just to state what should be obvious to many commentators, but isn’t: In the context of vehicle fuels, hydrogen isn’t an energy source. It’s a battery. You need energy to get the hydrogen. Perhaps this could be teamed with the Nocera process. Still, just to be clear, it’s a battery.
According to Stephen Voller, CEO at Cella Energy, in the GizMag piece below:
“We have developed new micro-beads that can be used in an existing gasoline or petrol vehicle to replace oil-based fuels,” said Voller. “Early indications are that the micro-beads can be used in existing vehicles without engine modification.”
Unless the company has come up with something that’s not described on their website, the statement above may be a product of a CEO reality distortion field of some type. Go to the company’s site to see the concept diagram for using this as a vehicle fuel. Does your car have a set up like that? No? Neither does mine.
I have absolutely no idea where GizMag got the $1.50 per gallon number, or how much energy a gallon of these hydrogen ‘micro-beads’ contains, compared to a gallon of conventional gasoline, buy anyway…
Via: GizMag:
UK-based Cella Energy has developed a synthetic fuel that could lead to US$1.50 per gallon gasoline. Apart from promising a future transportation fuel with a stable price regardless of oil prices, the fuel is hydrogen based and produces no carbon emissions when burned. The technology is based on complex hydrides, and has been developed over a four year top secret program at the prestigious Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford. Early indications are that the fuel can be used in existing internal combustion engined vehicles without engine modification.
According to Stephen Voller CEO at Cella Energy, the technology was developed using advanced materials science, taking high energy materials and encapsulating them using a nanostructuring technique called coaxial electrospraying.
“We have developed new micro-beads that can be used in an existing gasoline or petrol vehicle to replace oil-based fuels,” said Voller. “Early indications are that the micro-beads can be used in existing vehicles without engine modification.”
“The materials are hydrogen-based, and so when used produce no carbon emissions at the point of use, in a similar way to electric vehicles”, said Voller.
