Filed under: Technology, Earnings/Financials, Tata
The lure of extracting hydrogen from water in a somewhat real-time fashion in sufficient quantities to power an automobile has so far been a complete dead-end pursuit. One of the biggest problems is that it takes more energy to release the hydrogen from its water-tight bonds than is actually returned by the resulting hydrogen.
But those basic laws of physics haven’t stopped scientists with well-funded checkbooks from trying. The latest endeavor comes from Daniel Nocera of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is being funded by Indian businessman Ratan Tata, who, among other things, heads the global automaker that bears his name. At this time, the total grant comes in at $15 million.
As intriguing as all of this sounds, it bears mentioning that water-powered cars have repeatedly failed in their missions (see here) of offering nearly free fuel for all.
Take the story of the MDI’s air car. In 2007, Tata signed a deal with MDI to bring the air-powered car to market and the companies said in early 2008 that the car would require nearly two years of work. We have heard little about it since then except a name change to FlowAir and a lot of skepticism that it would ever see the light of day at all. Will Tata’s hydrogen bet fare any better? Thanks to Matteo and Roy B. for the tips!
[Sources: Sify News, ANSA.IT | Image: AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade]
Report: Tata pours $15M into project researching water as fuel originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mazda isn’t the only company out there working on the next-generation rotary engine. According to China Car Times, Chery is also dabbling in Wankel technology. The company isn’t so much interested in bringing non-piston love to The People’s Republic so much as they are finding a more efficient way to charge the batteries in an extended-range EV. If CCT’s intelligence is accurate, the plan is to use an 800cc Wankel as a sort of internal-combustion lifeline so that if an electric car’s batteries go dead the driver won’t be walking home. The strategy is in line with what we’ve seen from the Chevrolet Volt.