Ford sets hydrogen-powered land speed record

Interesting new press release yesterday by Ford, although it is unfortunately short on hard technical details.

This in my mind is probably the best example of true innovation (versus the weak innovation marketing campaign of last year) at Ford. Not only is Ford stretching the limits of a developing technology via racing (which I always admire), but this is the technology of the long-term future and is one that promises to significantly benefit our country by reducing dependence on foreign oil and therefore increasing our security and economic freedom.

Now believe me, I’m not a radical “greenie”… and I can’t stand Al Gore. And I’m not so naive to believe that anything can or should change on a dime. But I am a believer in the evolution of technology,  there are new technologies that are developing well, and I see significant advantage to reducing foreign dependence.

As for the impact of alternative powerplants on racers and driving enthusiasts… we can just start to see how that might be demonstrated as viable and even potentially as a better thing. There will be speedbumps along the way, and the development emphasis will be on mainstream vehicles before performance vehicles.  But there is no need to fear the future of performance… it will always be a consumer requirement and all three of the following technologies offer advantages. And from an engineering standpoint, isn’t powerplant efficiency and performance the same thing anyway?

Now lets go out a few years in time:

3 years: Hybrid sports vehicles, like the exciting Toyota FT-HS concept  ( http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-blog/2006/12/27.html#a1930 ), are probably a stop-gap solution until better battery technology can be invented or hydrogen can be fully exploited. The problem is complexity – you are carrying two drivetrains around with you. You are further compromised by the intention of the vehicle to get maximum mileage… perhaps the Toyota could be switched between it’s V-6 engine and a hybrid mode by the driver (performance for the track… economy for the ride home)? But don’t be so quick to write-off hybrid technology – there are efficiencies in the gasoline engine yet to be exploited and the electric hybrid part of the equation will only get better. I see more hybrids coming rather than less, and a performance hybrid that pushes the limits of technology can only improve the implementation to the benefit of all kinds of hybrids vehicles, pedestrian as well as sport. I, BTW, would buy an FT-HS when it comes out just to see what I can do with it.

10 years: Fully electric vehicles are not yet ready for mainstream or performance drivers, but offer great promise. An electric motor provides instant torque but would have power endurance issues on a high-speed racetrack. There isn’t anything on the immediate horizon that you could drive to a track weekend and enjoy as you would today. Batteries are again the problem, and will continue to be the problem until a significant breakthrough is found. When a breakthrough is finally developed, you’ll have a car that revs to tens of thousands of RPM provides constant torque throughout the powerband,  and accelerates without compromise. Charging will be an issue – both the infrastructure to support charging “fill up” stations on the roads as well as at the tracks (where you might well plug in the car between sessions on the track). Racers will need a dry pit space with a recharging station.  At my usual track, I have my last 20-minute session of the day on Sunday afternoon at 4:30 PM. I’d then have to grab some sort of fast charge before my 105 mile drive home in the evening – and maybe even another at a dinner stop along the way.

20 years: Hydrogen solves several problems… it’s cheap and plentiful, clean, easy to obtain, and it generates it’s own power. All we need is significant technology development, then significant production capability, and then significant infrastructure (refilling). It’s all happening, although very very slowly and with lots of problems to solve and obstacles to overcome. This is probably a 20-year process at the least. Lets go to my racetrack 20 years from now: instead of rows of tanks of racing gas (although there would still be 93 octane fuel available for the vintage racers and the last of the hybrids) there would be a hydrogen generating plant. Filling up after a session on the track would be not unlike filling up a propane bottle – although at considerably higher pressures. Cost would be dependent upon the cost of electricity – that’s what generated the hydrogen. Modern nuclear technology would be an absolutely necessary part of the overall infrastructure to support hydrogen generation. And that technology already exists and will only get better as we field more of it.

Now imagine a world where we aren’t dependent on foreign oil for our truck and cars. Where our own capabilities can supply sufficient oil for air transportation, plastics manufacturing, and other needs. We’ll still be involved in straightening out certain political messes in the Middle East and South America, and those will get worse with loss of the majority of their revenue (because we got smart and got away from oil), but 2-bit dictatorships won’t be able to hold us hostage with oil any longer.

Realistically, we’ll have to accelerate our efforts to get to this point in 20 years. But the technology is moving ahead, it’s being shown more and more often to the public, and both Ford and GM have made significant progress so far. A “Manhattan Project” effort has been proposed and it’s not a bad idea as long as industry drives it and not Government. Government should only provide the incentives.

Now imagine where suspension technology will be in 20 years. I can’t wait.

Ford press release follows:

DEARBORN, Aug. 15, 2007 — The Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 raced to a record 207.297 miles per hour Wednesday at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, which makes the world