Norway opens hydrogen highway with fuel cell car rally

[WhiskeyGirl]

Norway has opened a 560 kilometer (350 mile) "hydrogen highway" between Oslo and the North Sea oil hub Stavanger.  StatoilHydro built several hydrogen filling stations along the scenic route and Statoil is considering link the highway with a hydrogen autobahn in northern Germany. The three-day opening rally included a hydrogen fuel cell-powered powered Fiat Panda, an electric Tesla, a hydrogen powered Ford Focus, and a specially-modified Toyota Prius.

http://in.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idINTRE54A42Z20090511

http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/online/news/articles/2009-05/Norway-opens-hydrogen-highway-wi

I wonder how America is competing?

[WhiskeyGirl]

"The torque in an electric car is fabulous," professional rally driver Henning Solberg told Reuters before taking off in the Viking Rally's No. 1 car with Norway's Crown Prince Haakon.

"In acceleration, you could get as fast a car as you want with an electric engine," said Solberg, whose hydrogen-powered Ford (F.N) Focus nevertheless began the rally without the customary engine-revving and screeching of tyres.

Touted as future alternatives to carbon-dioxide emitting petrol engines, the still-experimental hydrogen engines emit only clean water, though it takes energy to produce hydrogen.

Unlike electric motors which take hours to recharge, the nearly silent hydrogen cars can be refuelled in a matter of minutes, much like conventional cars.

read more here -
http://uk.reuters.com/article/motoringSummary/idUKLNE54B02F20090512

[WhiskeyGirl]

Shell Eco-Marathon

Houston, TX -- A team of students at North Carolina A&T showed off their green skills in a national competition recently.

The team entered a hydrogen car into the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas competition. Students competed to create the most fuel efficient vehicle.

The Aggie team's hydrogen car achieved 1,074.4 miles per gallon. The team finished third in the prototype fuel cell category.

read more here -
http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=122825&catid=57

lots of competition, including some from Asia...lots of green solutions.