Under the Hood: Chevy Volt Hydrogen

By John

Editor

Why is the Chevy Volt so exciting? Well, it’s sexy as hell, doesn’t use gas, and is being developed by an American company. That’s pretty much enough to get my mouth watering. And even if the General doesn’t hit the slated 2010 release date, I’m not going to hold it against themthey’re really aiming high with this eco-machine. GizMoto just posted some under the hood pics of the hydrogen powered model, and it looks pretty sick. Check out the specs and the gallery.

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Posted at 9:20 pm in 2010, CES 2008, Chevy, Cool Products, John Coyle, Volt

Comments

retroman
Jan 9, 2008 at 7:27 pm

There’s one problem with Gallium though. It has a harmful byproduct. I’d suggest using the Stanley Meyers inventions. They make hydrogen on demand via pulsed variable frequency electrolysis. Other words it’s way more efficient than the experiment you did in high school but still the same basic principle as conventional electrolysis.

Ted
Jan 8, 2008 at 4:33 am

BREAKTHROUGH: Hydrogen can be generated on-demand by exposing an Aluminum/Gallium alloy to water.
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Just saw this on the Science channel.
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if this is efficient, it may well cars like the Volt extremely practical.
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No doubt though… they’ll keep a lid on this. God forbid we leave the Petroleum Industry hanging.

Ted
Jan 7, 2008 at 10:19 pm

It’s nice but at this point, it’s all pie in the sky. Although the system technically can work 100%, it will still be expensive to run on Hydrogen. There is absolutely no indication that this will be a bargain to fuel up, unlike a pure EV, so if people are looking for something to take away the pain at the pump, don’t hitch your expectations to this wagon.
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Refueling infrastructure is still at the starting blocks as well, and it’s looking as if it may become a chicken or egg scenario. Stations will be reluctant to do the very expensive upgrade to Hydrogen, and consumers will be very wary of buying a car with few or no places to refuel.
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This is a serious issue and not one to be taken lightly. In some ways, Diesels are much better than their gas-powered counterparts, but so fuel Diesel cars are on the road partly because people would never consider even buying one. Why? Much of that is because they are not familiar with Diesel, but do know that when they pull into gas stations they don’t remember seeing Diesel pumps, and not all stations even have diesel.
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I still give Hydrogen (and the Volt) a B.S. factor of 8.5.