hydrogen
Latest
RED Hydrogen One review: Mediocre cameraphone, extraordinary price tag
The RED Hydrogen One is not really a smartphone, it's a camera that also happens to be a smartphone. This makes sense to me intuitively, because when I use smartphones for video projects, or to take photos on vacation, I use a separate phone as the camera. That's exactly what I did with a Galaxy S9 when I was testing the Moment Lens Anamorphic on a trip to Yosemite. If you conceptualize the Hydrogen as a phone that competes with Samsung, Apple, or Huawei, it just flatly doesn't make sense. But ask yourself this: if you were designing a pocket camera today, would you use the slow embedded chips that Sony, Canon, and Nikon use in their compact cameras? Or would you use a speedy Snapdragon chip, like the one Google is using in the Pixel 2 to deliver its category-leading computational photography?
Pizza Hut's hydrogen delivery truck hauls a robotic kitchen
Pizza Hut will not be outdone in the pursuit of over-the-top delivery vehicles. The restaurant chain has teamed up with Toyota to unveil the Tundra Pie Pro, a concept hydrogen fuel cell truck that not only cooks pizzas, but uses a pair of robot arms to move them along the line. The mechanical limbs fetch pre-assembled pizzas, bake them, slice them and slide them into boxes all on their own -- they'll even ring a bell to let you know your meal is ready.
New solar cell generates hydrogen and electricity at the same time
In the ongoing pursuit of abundant, renewable alternatives to fossil fuels, scientists have produced hydrogen for fuel cells through artificial photosynthesis, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. Traditional processes have struggled to use optical, electronic and chemical properties in a way that makes this method efficient, but now researchers from Berkeley Lab have created a recipe that could completely bypass the limitations in current materials.
Hyundai's Nexo fuel cell SUV hits California dealers by end of 2018
Hyundai's second-generation hydrogen fuel cell car will soon be more than just a trade show darling. The automaker has formally introduced the 2019 Nexo SUV ahead of its late 2018 launch in the US, complete with details on its trim levels and availability at dealerships. The vehicle is only confirmed to be coming to two southern California dealerships by the end of 2018 (Van Nuys' Keyes Hyundai as well as Tustin Hyundai), with San Jose's Capitol Hyundai due in early 2019. The upshot? You might get more car than you were expecting.
The world's first hydrogen train is now in service
The world's first (and second) hydrogen-powered trains have entered service in northern Germany, marking the start of a new era for sustainable travel. Two Coradia iLint trains, made by Alstom, have begun working the line between Cuxhaven and Buxtehude just west of Hamburg. Until now, the nearly 100km-long line has been serviced by diesel trains, but will now play host to near-silent engines.
RED shares official Hydrogen One smartphone porn
The RED Hydrogen One could be the phone of our bleeding-edge dreams, or it could be too good to be true. It sports an impressive holographic display and it's modular, allowing owners to bolt on accessories as they see fit. The Hydrogen bucks current design trends, too, opting for rugged, scalloped edges and a massive camera surrounded by carbon fiber. Until now, RED has only shown off renders of the phone and we've gotten a first-hand look at it, but this week founder Jim Jannard shared actual press photos of the Hydrogen.
New Horizons probe may have detected Solar System's hydrogen 'wall'
Scientists have learned a bit about the edge of the Solar System from Voyager 1, but there hasn't been a lot of corroborating data without follow-up spacecraft. They appear to be getting a second chance, though. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has detected what appears to be a "wall" at the edge of the Solar System where interstellar hydrogen gathers as it collides with the solar wind -- in other words, the very edge of the Sun's influence. Researchers found it by capturing a 360-degree snapshot of ultraviolet emissions around the probe, revealing an unusual brightness (potentially bunched-up hydrogen) similar to a signal the Voyager mission detected 30 years ago.
Toyota's latest hydrogen-powered semi boasts 300-mile range
Toyota has made a lot of progress on its hydrogen fuel cell semi truck since unveiling the Alpha model in 2017. The automaker has unveiled a Beta version of its Project Portal semi that promises huge improvements. For one, the zero-emissions vehicle now drives 300 miles on a hydrogen tank instead of roughly 200 -- rather important if it's going to be hauling cargo all day. It's also more maneuverable, and manages to create more cab space (including a sleeper cab) thanks in part to a "unique fuel cabinet combination."
Ontario kills EV subsidies to reduce gas prices
Last month, Ontario elected a new provincial government; Doug Ford's Conservative Party, which has already begun enacting its key policies. That includes an immediate end to an electric and hydrogen vehicle subsidy, as well as incentive programs for EV chargers. The aim? To gut a cap-and-trade program that was designed to encourage folks to ditch their planet-killing gas guzzlers.
A closer look at RED's audacious Hydrogen One phone
In a van sitting between the high school from Pretty Little Liars and the Stars Hollow gazebo from Gilmore Girls, RED founder Jim Jannard takes out his smartphone — the Hydrogen One — and starts whipping through demos with me. We're at AT&T's Shape entertainment conference at Warner Brothers Studios and this might be the most surreal hands-on experience I've ever had with a phone. Then again, this might be the most surreal smartphone I've ever used.
It’s too early to write off hydrogen vehicles
Hydrogen is either the wonder fuel of the future or a technological cul-de-sac. Toyota believes the former, and has spent the past few decades developing mass-market hydrogen cars. The automaker showcased what the technology can do, in the form of its Mirai Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), which launched in 2015. But while its Mirai might be the most visible use of the technology, it's by no means the only place these engines can work.
The hydrogen train of the future is a lot like the train of today
The rail industry has a problem: Its infrastructure is decades, sometimes centuries old, and it is hugely expensive to upgrade. Diesel-powered trains dominate, but fuel is getting pricey, the trains are noisy and they're terrible for the environment. French multinational Alstom believes it has the solution: a hydrogen-powered train that can be swapped in for its diesel equivalent. Say hello to the Coradia iLint, the hydrogen train of the very-near future.
Anheuser-Busch will haul beer in Nikola hydrogen-electric trucks
The rivalry between Nikola and Tesla is only getting hotter... figuratively speaking. Mere months after ordering 40 Tesla Semis, Anheuser-Busch has ordered "up to" 800 of Nikola's hydrogen-electric semi-trucks to introduce them into its beer-carrying fleet starting in 2020. The deal should help Anheuser-Busch convert its entire long-haul roster to renewable-based trucks by 2025 and will be equivalent to taking over 13,000 cars off the road. As to why it's not just relying on Tesla? One word: range.
FedEx adds a hydrogen fuel cell van to its fleet
Cars are bad for us in pretty much every respect, especially since fossil fuel use contributes around 65 percent of all climate-changing emissions. Since delivery companies zoom around our neighborhoods with diesel-belching vans every day, package vans need to get clean, and fast. It's why FedEx is making a big deal that it's just taken delivery of its first hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle.
Hyundai's self-driving fuel cell cars complete a record highway trip
Future self-driving cars don't have to be pure electric vehicles, and Hyundai is determined to prove it. The automaker just had a five-strong fleet of Level 4 autonomous hydrogen fuel cars drive themselves 118 miles from Seoul to the Winter Olympics' home venue of Pyeongchang. That's the longest any self-driving vehicle has traveled at highway speeds (around 62-68MPH), the company claimed. Previously, they had to putt around at slower speeds, and frequently on limited road sections.
Hyundai plans 38 EVs as it tries to catch up with rivals
Hyundai and its affiliate Kia have revealed ambitious plans to bring as many as 38 green cars to market in the next eight years, with seven models slated for launch in the next five. Most of them will be electric vehicles, senior vice president Lee Ki-sang told reporters last week, adding to the company's current green line-up of the Hyundai Ioniq, Kia Soul, several plug-in hybrids and the hydrogen-based fuel-cell ix35.
Honda and Toyota are still backing hydrogen fuel-cell cars
Toyota, Honda and Nissan are partnering with eight industrial firms to make a fresh push on hydrogen refuelling stations in Japan. The group wants to build 80 stations within the first four years of the partnership -- which is expected to last a decade -- with nine in operation by March 2018. The plan would nearly double the 91 stations currently in the country.
Rare metals could make hydrogen-powered cars more efficient
Despite being much faster to fuel up than EVs, hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars have largely failed to make an impact. There are various reasons for that like the crazy expensive infrastructure and hydrogen's explosiveness, but the main one is that from well to wheels, hydrogen cars are much less efficient than EVs. Now, researchers from Spain and Norway have unveiled a new method to convert methane to hydrogen with almost no loss of energy, perhaps making the vehicles (slightly) more feasible.
Daimler and HPE want to power green data centers with hydrogen
Hydrogen fuel cells have mainly been used to power vehicles so far, but they could soon find another use: the server farms powering your internet services. Daimler, HPE, Power Innovations and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are expanding fuel cell use to "micro-grids" inside data centers. Solar and wind power would provide the bulk of the energy, but fuel cells would fill in the gap when power demand is too high or an outage leaves no other choice. Companies wouldn't have to rely quite so heavily on diesel generators or other not-so-eco-friendly backups to cope with demand. And unlike battery backups, there's no limit -- the fuel cell can keep running as long as there's hydrogen.
Cigarette butts could be reborn as green energy storage
It's no secret that smoking is seriously bad news for your health, but the impact of the habit on the planet's health is pretty bleak, too. Every year nearly six trillion cigarettes are smoked around the world, generating more than 800,000 metric tons of cigarette butts. Something has to be done with them all, and they usually end up in landfill (or leaching into waterways). But now, scientists have discovered they may have a hidden potential: hydrogen storage.
