This new cell utilises only four components—a water reservoir and a chamber containing metal hydride separated by a thin membrane with an assembly of electrodes that conduct electricity underneath. Because of the small size of the cell, the team was able to eliminate the pump, pressure sensor, and controlling electronics that create such a power drain in typical fuel cells.

The first designs of the cell were capable of generating 0.7 volts and a current of 0.1 milliamps for 30 hours—but they claim that new versions can deliver 1 milliamp at a similar voltage. [New Scientist via Cleantech via DVICE]

The new kit—because it may look like a race car but let’s be honest, it’s a science edu-toy—still comes with the solar panel and hydrogen station so that you can use the sun’s rays to convert H2O to H2 and O2. But the car itself now has glowing LEDs, responds to an IR remote, and runs longer and faster with the same amount of fuel. Taking a cue from auto makers and gas companies who release literally green advertisements to convince the public they aren’t part of the problem, Horizon decided to change the car’s translucent tint from blue to, yes, green. The difference, of course, is that Horizon definitely isn’t part of the problem. Only time will tell, however, if they are part of the solution. Meantime, here’s a fun Christmas gift for anyone that still has $US120 to spend on progress! [Horizon via Gizmag]

Part of the gaff was, of course, due to that fact that there are just 60 hydrogen stations in the U.S., and only two of those are open to the public “without prior arrangement,” says Reuters. Nevertheless, event promoter Catherine Dunwoody, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership (a major tour supporter), was optimistic about hydrogen’s chances.

“There’s a hunger out there for clean, safe vehicles,” Brubaker said. “The common refrain everywhere we went was ‘Where do we get these cars.’” As a personal aside, I, too, would be interested in such a venture, especially if it meant large swaths of my morning commute meant hopping on the back of a truck, and having someone else do the driving for me.

More seriously, hydrogen as a major fuel source is pretty much nowhere near becoming mainstream. As the article notes, big wig auto makers like Honda and General Motors only have plans to test a handful of hydrogen vehicles this year and next in select markets.

A best case scenario out of the car industry has only 2 million hydrogen-powered electric vehicles on the roads by 2020.

At least there was some diversity on this cross-country trip: Cars were provided by Honda, GM, Toyota Motor Corp, Ford Motor Co, BMW AG, Daimler AG, Hyundai Motor Co, Nissan Motor Co, and Volkswagen AG. No word on those flat beds. [Reuters]

The team says its new cathode, made of a conductive plastic called PEDOT, could be manufactured for just several hundred dollars. Even better, PEDOT is much more stable than platinum and doesn’t have platinum’s pesky clumping problems or aversion to carbon monoxide.

The researchers are now planning on building fuel cells with the cathode in 3D, to maximise the surface area available to generate a current. With this new breakthrough and the solar-charged process engineered by MIT scientists a few days ago, it’s been kind of an awesome week for fuel cell science. [ABC via Treehugger]

That was in 1978, and he’s talking about creating hydrogen with solar power and not polluting. Screw Al Gore and get me Jack. This guy was telling it exactly how it is, but 30 years ago. Seriously, the people in America and the oil companies and the whole world can’t handle the truth! [Treehugger]

While lugging around laptop fuel doesn’t sound all that much better than batteries, this methanol system would shave 65% of the weight from what our soldiers carry now (which is a hefty 12 kilos of batteries per 72-hour mission). And if we were soldiers, we’d gladly spend that weight savings on guns and diapers. [cleantech via cnet]

Not surprisingly, Genenpax has kept the exact details of their technology under wraps, but they did say that their new process, while based on existing technology, is expected to produce hydrogen from water for longer time than any method currently available. Furthermore, WES does not require a hydrogen reformer, a high-pressure hydrogen tank, or any special catalysts to get the job done.

During a recent conference, Genepax unveiled a fuel cell stack with a rated output of 120W and a fuel cell system with a rated output of 300W–and there are plans for a 1kw-class generation system for use in both electric vehicles and houses sometime in the future. At this point, the cost of production on the water-powered vehicle engine itself is around about ¥2,000,000 (US$18,522), but they hope to drop the price to ¥500,000 (US$4600) or less if they succeed in bringing it into mass production. [Tech On]

Best of all, though there’s no hints on pricing and the car is still in prototype stage, it may be available in a limited run as soon as October this year. [Gas2.org via New Launches]