Hydrogen Power - No Hot Air

Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. Can Hydrogen-powered powered vehicles kick butt in dry lake racing?  If what I saw during Speed Week 2008 at the Bonneville salt flats is any indication, the answer is yes. Last week Ohio State's Center for Automotive Research entered Streamliner No. 2016, the Buckeye Bullet 2, and made history. The car was--you guessed it--hydrogen fuel cell powered. What about filling stations you ask? Filling stations are not an issue at Bonneville. There are none, for hydrogen or any other fuel. The closest thing I saw was a man holding a red can of racing fuel.

The team of engineering students worked most of the week to get their car in shape and make a successful run. There were several days of runs with no recorded times; this is not unusual, given that technical problems and blown engines are as common as salt at Bonneville. On Friday the team had real success. On three runs they consistently crossed the 200-mph barrier. Their best exit speed was 286.476 mph. The team easily entered the 200-mph club and was a scant 13.5 mph away from the 300-mph barrier, a great achievement for any car or team.

Bonneville is a place of great silence that is broken only by magical sound of high-performance engines tuned to within an inch of their lives and often pushed beyond their limits. In this land of extremes, the Buckeye Bullet 2 was unique in being almost completely silent. On the starting line it let forth a single long sigh and then gracefully rose to a speeds over 280 mph.

Does this herald a sudden conversion to hydrogen fuel cell powered cars? No. Is dragging hydrogen -powered cars across the country on flatbed trucks, in a failed PR stunt, bad form? Yes. Folks, learn a thing or two from the intrepid Buckeye engineers, and if you're going to try to drive hydrogen powered cars across the country, have a tanker follow the PR team or set up regular fuel stations at key intervals. That would make a PR point about the need for said hydrogen fuel stations.

What the Buckeye Bullet 2 does is show what can be achieved with smarts and a lot of hard work. The Bullet was designed and built entirely by engineering students at Ohio State. Hello, Detroit! Hello, world! Hire these guys--they should be designing our next generation of street vehicles ... now!

The Bullet 2 did not win in its class; to do so it would have had to beat the record achieved in 2004 by the original Buckeye Bullet, the world's fastest electric car, which turned in a speed of 314.958 mph. If you are wondering, those fractions of a second really do matter at Bonneville.

The video shows the start of the Buckeye Bullet 2's final run just before sunset on Friday Aug. 22. In the tradition of Bonneville racers, the start is slow and assisted by a pusher truck. Gearing and traction conditions often prohibit vehicles from making an unassisted start. The high-pitched sounds from the Bullet faded shortly after the push start and were replaced by the sound of pursuit vehicles and racers on the adjacent "short course."  For those who want more details, here is the Buckeye Bullet's website and blog.

Ohio State engineers quietly rocked the salt at Bonneville and made history. The students baked in the Utah sun, worked incredibly hard, and had real success in the Special Construction Class, competing for records posted by turbine vehicles and blown fuel streamliners and lakesters--not to mention their own 2004 electric vehicle record. Bravo Buckeyes! I can't wait to see your next run, and good luck when classes resume next week.

--Mochi Mochi

Comments

[Anthony Cagle on August 27, 2008 at 01:40 PM]

"Hello, Detroit! Hello, world! Hire these guys--they should be designing our next generation of street vehicles ... now!"

Have to disagree. If history has taught us anything, it's that people tinkering in labs can produce a lot of really cool whiz-bang technology. . .that can never be produced and sold at a profit.

One of these days I'm going to troll various tech magazine back issues of the last 30 years and list out all of the supposedly great ideas that never got off the ground. Like, um, maybe turbine-powered cars? =)

[Anthony Cagle on August 27, 2008 at 01:41 PM]

"Hello, Detroit! Hello, world! Hire these guys--they should be designing our next generation of street vehicles ... now!"

Have to disagree. If history has taught us anything, it's that people tinkering in labs can produce a lot of really cool whiz-bang technology. . .that can never be produced and sold at a profit.

One of these days I'm going to troll various tech magazine back issues of the last 30 years and list out all of the supposedly great ideas that never got off the ground. Like, um, maybe turbine-powered cars? =)

[Anthony Cagle on August 27, 2008 at 01:42 PM]

I finally figured out why double-posting occurs: Don't hit the browser's Back button after a successful post! Apologies.

[Mechanical Engineer on August 27, 2008 at 03:19 PM]

I disagree. These students did something amazing. No "tinkering" in labs. They built and ran something really cool and must have learned stuff that even major car designers don't know. No way it could be otherwise.

Turbine engines can work as shown by the turbine indy car. It all depends on how you use technology. Do it the wrong way and it fails. Figure a way to do it the right way and everyone loves you and you're a hero.

But if you want to go ahead and spend a lot of time listing all the inventions that did not pan out, then you must have way to much time on your hands and a pretty miserable outlook on life. Save your self some time and try to make a list of all the people who built cars that can go 300 mph.

[monkeygurl on August 27, 2008 at 05:48 PM]

thanks for the informative article. who took the pix, may i ask. they look great!

[Cookie the Dog's Owner on August 27, 2008 at 06:01 PM]

Very much appreciate the on-the-scene reporting. Excellent!

[Brian on August 27, 2008 at 09:22 PM]

Wild, nice writing. Is it a hydrogen powered turbine vehicle? GM aparently despises electric vehicles, as seen by what happened the to EV1. This is unfortunate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F
However, they don't mind the PR buzz of a "new electric car," such as the Volt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevy_Volt
The simple fact is that if you wish to limit your commuter driving to 40 miles or less, you can get an off-the-shelf kit to convert your durable beater into an electric car that you can recharge by plugging into a wall socket, which is far cheaper & more manageable energy than pump gas.
GM ought to wake the hell up and crank out some EV1s already. And there's no good reason dead batteries can't be swapped with charged batteries at gas stations with existing technology.
Ah.

[John Gotthold on August 28, 2008 at 09:08 AM]

Bravo for the Buckeye Bullet II. We built a fuel cell recharged
electric 308 Dino Farrari fiberfab back in 1998, but ours wouldn't go nearly 300 mph. Hydrogen fuel cells will eventually power the world but first we will probably go through gasoline deep hybrids (150 mpg)then to E85 gas alcohol deep hybrids (600 mpg of gasoline), and then finally to hydrogen fuel cell deep hybrids (infinity per gallon of gasoline because gasoline will be obsolete, hot to mention unavailable). The transportation world is getting more responsible and more fun with efforts like the Buckeye Bullet II, Keep it up!

[Hoagster on August 28, 2008 at 10:42 AM]

Bonus points to anyone who knows the significance of the car's number :)

[Mochi Mochi on August 28, 2008 at 11:37 AM]

Hoagster: "2016" I'm guessing that it has to do with carbon neutrality, climate initiatives, or expected dramatic climate change. Am I getting warm?

Turbines were not part of the Buckeye Bullet 2, but that's an interesting idea. They used a Hydrogen/Oxygen fuel cell manufactured by Ballard. I need to do a little research on exactly how fuel cells generate electricity from this sometimes explosive water producing reaction. If anyone wants to fill us in on an explanation of fuel cell technology now is a good time. The electrical power generated by the fuel cell was then used to power the electric motor of this FRONT WHEEL DRIVE streamliner. This is a really fascinating vehicle.

Thanks for the props, this was almost as much fun to write as it was to witness. Getting a chance to photograph and video these machine first hand at Bonneville was a complete treat. Seeing something as unusual as the Bullet was remarkable. Go Buckeyes!

[Mochi Mochi on August 28, 2008 at 11:37 AM]

Hoagster: "2016" I'm guessing that it has to do with carbon neutrality, climate initiatives, or expected dramatic climate change. Am I getting warm?

Turbines were not part of the Buckeye Bullet 2, but that's an interesting idea. They used a Hydrogen/Oxygen fuel cell manufactured by Ballard. I need to do a little research on exactly how fuel cells generate electricity from this sometimes explosive water producing reaction. If anyone wants to fill us in on an explanation of fuel cell technology now is a good time. The electrical power generated by the fuel cell was then used to power the electric motor of this FRONT WHEEL DRIVE streamliner. This is a really fascinating vehicle.

Thanks for the props, this was almost as much fun to write as it was to witness. Getting a chance to photograph and video these machine first hand at Bonneville was a complete treat. Seeing something as unusual as the Bullet was remarkable. Go Buckeyes!

[Speed Freak on August 28, 2008 at 12:34 PM]

1.008 the atomic weight of the Hydrogen atom. 1.008*2=2.016 is the weight of the diatomic form

[Mochi Mochi on August 28, 2008 at 12:57 PM]

"2.016 is the weight of the diatomic form" - Oh I like that. Subtle and beautiful.

[Electric Jam on August 28, 2008 at 05:07 PM]

GM had to destroy the EV1s - they were a liability, and if you read about that car at all, you will understand.

They are working on the Volt. Time will tell if they bring it to market before they go bankrupt.

[PersonFromPorlock on August 29, 2008 at 10:33 AM]

>One of these days I'm going to troll various tech magazine back issues of the last 30 years and list out all of the supposedly great ideas that never got off the ground. Like, um, maybe turbine-powered cars?<

The STP turbine car was such a success at Indy that the USAC immediately (effectively) banned turbines to protect the investment of piston-engined car owners.

[john on February 05, 2009 at 09:50 AM]

hi

[john on February 05, 2009 at 09:51 AM]

hi

[Columbus, OH on February 21, 2009 at 08:46 PM]

" They used a Hydrogen/Oxygen fuel cell manufactured by Ballard. I need to do a little research on exactly how fuel cells generate electricity from this sometimes explosive water producing reaction".

-In a nutshell, and for basic understanding. What fuel cells produce is an electric current caused by the passing of the hydrogen electron through a membrane (caused by the attraction of oxygen molecules, a fuel cell uses both gases). The membrane "catches" the electrons and uses them in the electric circuit (our motor/inverter package), then the circuit completes when the electrons attach the hydrogen and oxygen molecules together producing water exhaust. Please, there is no combustion or rockets or turbines or anything of the like. It would be better to think of it as a chemical reaction. Also, this is a great technology, but is a long ways from coming in your new ford mustang. Please, if you care about this technology support hydrogen infrastructure and production research. Lastly Remember, If it was EASY M*CH*GAN would do it.