Major Point: In summer when people start turning on their air conditioners areas of America have their utility companies power grid fully tested and with those test as temperatures rise brown happen and power outages happen. Now consider if every American driver were to have an electric car added to the pull power from the grid. Elite Media does not makes this point but you better believe and the Power Companies and the Automobile Companies have fully been talking about it.

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Mitsubishi Testing Its Cute EV in California

The automaker has signed deals with Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison to add a few i MiEVs to their fleets in October. The three-year demonstration program will test the vehicles' drivetrains, reliability and usage on the grid. It follows similar deals with utility companies in Japan, where the car hits the market next summer.

It ditches the 64-horsepower engine in favor of a 47 kW electric motor and 330-volt lithium-ion battery. The battery charges in about 10 to 16 hours plugged into a standard 110 volt electrical outlet like the ones in your house. Plug it into a 220 and it'll charge in six to eight.

It is good for zero-to-60 mph in less than 9 seconds and a top speed of 82 mph. It is good for 75 miles on a charge.

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For Cars to take 6 to 8 hours to charge and then the range is only 75 miles, that makes them less feasible. Also both Ford and GM have been working with the utility industry to see what impact having electric cars in mass will have on the grid. During the heat of summer many areas of the nation face blackouts because the grid can not support the number of air conditioners running. Can the grid support a huge number of house holds charging their electric cars. With Democrats like Al Gore increasing global warming with all their enviromental hot air, (yes, I do know George Bush Sr. was the asshole who reduced offshore drilling) the Democrats have not only worked to reduce oil exploration and cut into the "known oil reserve" but they have also hindered the power companies from expanding their grids. Here in Georgia a new coal plant is being hindered by the Democrats and the Courts.

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Fuel Cells

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, with water and heat as its by-product. As long as fuel is supplied, the fuel cell will continue to generate power. Since the conversion of the fuel to energy takes place via an electrochemical process, not combustion, the process is clean, quiet and highly efficient – two to three times more efficient than fuel burning.

There are many uses for fuel cells — right now, all of the major automakers are working to commercialize a fuel cell car. Fuel cells are powering buses, boats, trains, planes, scooters, forklifts, even bicycles. There are fuel cell-powered vending machines, vacuum cleaners and highway road signs. Miniature fuel cells for cellular phones, laptop computers and portable electronics are on their way to market. Hospitals, credit card centers, police stations, and banks are all using fuel cells to provide power to their facilities. Wastewater treatment plants and landfills are using fuel cells to convert the methane gas they produce into electricity. Telecommunications companies are installing fuel cells at cell phone, radio and 911 towers. The possibilities are endless.

Fuel cell vehicles have already proven much more efficient than similar internal combustion vehicles. Toyota has published their efficiency results showing their conventional gasoline vehicle having a tank-to-wheel efficiency of only 16%, while their FCVH-4 running on hydrogen shows a 48% tank-to-wheel efficiency - an amazing three times more efficient. GM has also announced that their fuel cell prototypes running on hydrogen have twice the efficiency of their conventional gasoline vehicles.

As fuel cell vehicles begin to operate on fuels like natural gas or gasoline, greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 50%. In the future, the combination of high efficiency fuel cells and fuels from renewable energy sources will nearly eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.

Because fuel cell vehicles operate with electric motors which have very few moving parts (only those pumps and blowers needed to provide fuel and coolant), vehicle vibrations and noise will be vastly reduced and routine maitenence (oil changes, spark plug replacement) will be eliminated.

Fuel cells also have a great advantage over battery powered electric vehicles because they eliminate charging time, allow a wide range of speeds, and operate as long as fuel is supplied.

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Fuel cells run on hydrogen, the simplest element and most plentiful gas in the universe. Hydrogen is colorless, odorless and tasteless. Each hydrogen molecule has two atoms of hydrogen, which accounts for the H 2 we often see. Hydrogen is the lightest element, with a density of 0.08988 grams per liter at standard pressure, yet it has the highest energy content per unit weight of all the fuels – 52,000 Btu/lb, or three times the energy of a pound of gasoline.

Hydrogen is never found alone on earth — it is always combined with other elements such as oxygen and carbon. Hydrogen can be extracted from virtually any hydrogen compound and is the ultimate clean energy carrier. It is safe to manufacture. And hydrogen's chemical energy can be harnessed in pollution-free ways.

Types of Fuel Cells:
Phosphoric Acid fuel cell (PAFC) - Phosphoric acid fuel cells are commercially available today. Hundreds of fuel cell systems have been installed in 19 nations - in hospitals, nursing homes, hotels, office buildings, schools, utility power plants, landfills and waste water treatment plants. PAFCs generate electricity at more than 40% efficiency - and nearly 85% of the steam this fuel cell produces is used for cogeneration - this compares to about 35% for the utility power grid in the United States. Phosphoric acid fuel cells use liquid phosphoric acid as the electrolyte and operate at about 450°F. One of the main advantages to this type of fuel cell, besides the nearly 85% cogeneration efficiency, is that it can use impure hydrogen as fuel. PAFCs can tolerate a CO concentration of about 1.5 percent, which broadens the choice of fuels they can use. If gasoline is used, the sulfur must be removed.

Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell (PEM) - These fuel cells operate at relatively low temperatures (about 175°F), have high power density, can vary their output quickly to meet shifts in power demand, and are suited for applications, such as in automobiles, where quick startup is required. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), "they are the primary candidates for light-duty vehicles, for buildings, and potentially for much smaller applications such as replacements for rechargeable batteries." This type of fuel cell is sensitive to fuel impurities. Cell outputs generally range from 50 watts to 75 kW.

Molten Carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) - Molten carbonate fuel cells use an electrolyte composed of a molten carbonate salt mixture suspended in a porous, chemically inert matrix, and operate at high temperatures - approximatelly 1,200ºF. They require carbon dioxide and oxygen to be delivered to the cathode. To date, MCFCs have been operated on hydrogen, carbon monoxide, natural gas, propane, landfill gas, marine diesel, and simulated coal gasification products. 10 kW to 2 MW MCFCs have been tested on a variety of fuels and are primarily targeted to electric utility applications.

Solid Oxide fuel cell (SOFC) - Solid oxide fuel cells use a hard, non-porous ceramic compound as the electrolyte, and operate at very high temperatures - around 1800°F. One type of SOFC uses an array of meter-long tubes, and other variations include a compressed disc that resembles the top of a soup can. Tubular SOFC designs are closer to commercialization and are being produced by several companies around the world. SOFCs are suitable for stationary applications as well as for auxiliary power units (APUs) used in vehicles to power electronics.

Alkaline fuel cell (AFC) - Long used by NASA on space missions, alkaline fuel cells can achieve power generating efficiencies of up to 70 percent. They were used on the Apollo spacecraft to provide both electricity and drinking water. Alkaline fuel cells use potassium hydroxide as the electrolyte and operate at 160°F. However, they are very susceptible to carbon contamination, so require pure hydrogen and oxygen.

Direct Methanol fuel cell (DMFC) - These cells are similar to the PEM cells in that they both use a polymer membrane as the electrolyte. However, in the DMFC, the anode catalyst itself draws the hydrogen from the liquid methanol, eliminating the need for a fuel reformer. Efficiencies of about 40% are expected with this type of fuel cell, which would typically operate at a temperature between 120-190°F. This is a relatively low range, making this fuel cell attractive for tiny to mid-sized applications, to power cellular phones and laptops. Higher efficiencies are achieved at higher temperatures. Companies are also working on DMFC prototypes to be used by the military for powering electronic equipment in the field.

Regenerative fuel cell - Regenerative fuel cells are attractive as a closed-loop form of power generation. Water is separated into hydrogen and oxygen by a solar-powered electrolyzer. The hydrogen and oxygen are fed into the fuel cell which generates electricity, heat and water. The water is then recirculated back to the solar-powered electrolyzer and the process begins again. These types of fuel cells are currently being researched by NASA and others worldwide.

Zinc Air fuel cell (ZAFC) - In a typical zinc/air fuel cell, there is a gas diffusion electrode (GDE), a zinc anode separated by electrolyte, and some form of mechanical separators. The GDE is a permeable membrane that allows atmospheric oxygen to pass through. After the oxygen has converted into hydroxyl ions and water, the hydroxyl ions will travel through an electrolyte, and reaches the zinc anode. Here, it reacts with the zinc, and forms zinc oxide. This process creates an electrical potential; when a set of ZAFC cells are connected, the combined electrical potential of these cells can be used as a source of electric power. This electrochemical process is very similar to that of a PEM fuel cell, but the refueling is very different and shares characteristics with batteries. ZAFCs contain a zinc "fuel tank" and a zinc refrigerator that automatically and silently regenerates the fuel. In this closed-loop system, electricity is created as zinc and oxygen are mixed in the presence of an electrolyte (like a PEMFC), creating zinc oxide. Once fuel is used up, the system is connected to the grid and the process is reversed, leaving once again pure zinc fuel pellets. The key is that this reversing process takes only about 5 minutes to complete, so the battery recharging time hang up is not an issue. The chief advantage zinc-air technology has over other battery technologies is its high specific energy, which is a key factor that determines the running duration of a battery relative to its weight.

Protonic Ceramic fuel cell (PCFC) - This new type of fuel cell is based on a ceramic electrolyte material that exhibits high protonic conductivity at elevated temperatures. PCFCs share the thermal and kinetic advantages of high temperature operation at 700 degrees Celsius with molten carbonate and solid oxide fuel cells, while exhibiting all of the intrinsic benefits of proton conduction in PEM and phosphoric acid fuel cells. The high operating temperature is necessary to achieve very high electrical fuel efficiency with hydrocarbon fuels. PCFCs can operate at high temperatures and electrochemically oxidize fossil fuels directly to the anode. This eliminates the intermediate step of producing hydrogen through the costly reforming process. Gaseous molecules of the hydrocarbon fuel are absorbed on the surface of the anode in the presence of water vapor, and hydrogen atoms are efficiently stripped off to be absorbed into the electrolyte, with carbon dioxide as the primary reaction product. Additionally, PCFCs have a solid electrolyte so the membrane cannot dry out as with PEM fuel cells, or liquid can't leak out as with PAFCs.

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) - Microbial fuel cells use the catalytic reaction of microorganisms such as bacteria to convert virtually any organic material into fuel. Some common compounds include glucose, acetate, and wastewater. Enclosed in oxygen-free anodes, the organic compounds are consumed (oxidized) by the bacteria or other microbes. As part of the digestive process, electrons are pulled from the compound and conducted into a circuit with the help of an inorganic mediator. MFCs operate well in mild conditions relative to other types of fuel cells, such as 20-40 degrees Celsius, and could be capable of producing over 50% efficiency. These cells are suitable for small scale applications such as potential medical devices fueled by glucose in the blood, or larger such as water treatment plants or breweries producing organic waste that could then be used to fuel the MFCs.