Not often do I get the chance to utter the phrase, “hydrogen cars for sale” but today I do. Once before I was proud enough to day the phrase hydrogen truck for sale but now a “used” H2 car has come on the market.

The hydrogen car for sale is a 1972 Gremlin that was put together by faculty and students in the same year for the purpose in competing in a one time event called the Urban Vehicle Design Competition. The vehicle was donated by GM and the engine, a 351 Boss was donated by Ford.

Above I’ve linked to a page that carried my details about the hydrogen car for sale but I would like to provide a few additional details after speaking with the seller. Because privacy is a concern, Damon asked me not to use his last name or the name of the owner.

The current owner is in Florida and is a car collector with over 25 other vehicles who decided it was time to let this 1972 Gremlin go for $9,000. The collector bought the hydrogen car in the 1990’s from a company called Barris, the customized the Gremlin and raced it a few times.

This hydrogen car for sale has been in several museums and comes with a fragile log book detailing its adventures. If you have a serious inquiry about this vehicle, please call Damon at 1-813-789-6125.

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One of the problems of brute force electrolysis has always been the amount of energy it takes to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The use of different kinds of metal or chemical catalysts, sound wave frequencies and other methods to loosen the bonds between hydrogen and oxygen atoms have met with encouraging success.

And, another attempt at lowering the voltage requirements of splitting water has gained laboratory success by Japanese researchers. The Solar Light Energy Conversion Group, the Energy Technology Research Institute and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology have developed a tungsten oxide (WO3) photocatalyst that along with solar energy reduces the voltage requirements for producing hydrogen by 50-percent.

According to the press release, “The high efficiency of the WO3 photocatalyst was achieved using a new method—treatment of the surface of the photocatalyst with Cesium (Cs). The activity of the treated catalyst is more than ten times that of untreated catalysts. The quantum yield of the new photocatalyst is 19% under visible light of wavelength 420 nm and is approximately 50 times the previously reported values (0.4%)*. The use of solar energy can reduce the voltage required for water electrolysis by almost 50%. Hence, the low-cost production of hydrogen is expected.”

One of the main arguments that critics have of producing hydrogen (even from renewable methods such as solar) is that it takes too much energy to produce H2 and why not just store this energy in batteries. By significantly lowering the voltage needed to produce hydrogen fuel from water, this argument is taken away.

Hydrogen cars have a longer range and much quicker refueling times than battery electric vehicles and if the production of hydrogen is cost effective this means that one more hurdle will be crossed in the realization of a hydrogen-based transportation system.

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Filed under: Etc., Hydrogen, Green Daily

So, you’re in the market for a hydrogen-powered vehicle, but just can’t seem to find the right ride. Well, if you’ll consider replacing that compact car with something a lot smaller, then you’re in luck. Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies is just days away from releasing its H-Cell 2.0 fuel cell kit for 1:10 scale remote control cars. Although passenger space is non-existent and the driver’s seat is replaced by a remote control, you can still claim bragging rights to owning one of the latest hydrogen-powered cars in the land, just don’t tell anyone how small it is. The H-Cell 2.0 power kit can propel this little thing to 45 miles per hour and maintain that speed for a full 60 minutes. Impressive for sure, but the company left out one of the most important pieces of info: price. Version one, you may remember, was a wee bit pricey. You’ll find specs, a video of the R/C car in action and much more after the jump. Hat tip to Roy!

*UPDATE: Thanks to tipster Andy, we now have a copy of the order form with a listed price of the H-Cell 2.0 kit. The kit starts at $899, with additional options available. The order form can be found after the jump.

[Source: Engadget, Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies]

Continue reading Dream of owning a hydrogen-powered car? Here’s a 1:10 scale version for ya [w/video] *UPDATE

Dream of owning a hydrogen-powered car? Here’s a 1:10 scale version for ya [w/video] *UPDATE originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 27 May 2010 11:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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