Australia-China Research Partnership Targeting Alt Fuels and Energy Storage
18 August 2008
The University of Queensland (UQ) will lead a A$3.9 million (US$3.4 million) Australia-China research partnership targeting the production of alternative liquid fuels, hydrogen, and energy storage for hybrid vehicles and fuel cell vehicles.
UQ Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Greenfield said the alliance’s broad objectives were:
Cost-effective technologies for alternative liquid fuels as well as technologies from solar and clean coal processes that will enable hydrogen production; and
Materials for storing electricity and hydrogen for the new generation of hybrid vehicles and fuel cell vehicles of the future.
All Queensland researchers are associated with the UQ-based Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials and are led by Professor Max Lu, a two-time ARC Federation Fellow. The Chinese experts are from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics and Institute of Metals Research.
Queensland sits on one oF the largest reserves of coal on the planet.
That buys a lot of alternative in any shade of green you like!
Posted by: arnold | 19 August 2008 at 01:45 AM
A combination of ZEBRA batteries and bipolar lead acid batteries will make the cheapest long distance plug-in-hybrid vehicle right now. Lithium batteries remain high in cost, but have a good chance of being low in price in the future. The ZEBRA and Lithium batteries may have a higher energy density than all proposed hydrogen storage plans except for hydrocarbon fuels. The recycling of CO2 is just as clean as H2 in regards to CO2 buildup.
Electro-chemists can develop "fuel cells" that produce methanol from water and CO2. The methanol can then be used at very high efficiency in a high compression engine. The use of a known compound as fuel allows easier exhaust gas clean up. It is even now possible to remove CO2 from exhaust gases and convert it to a liquid.
Electricity displaces much fuel with the use of plug-in-hybrids. MR. TATA must now engineer a cheap plug in hybrid car. To get the Plug-in-Hybrid into an economic range. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 20 August 2008 at 05:57 PM