We test plenty of cars here at PopSci, but it's not everyday we get to try one as forward-looking and promising at the Equinox. The car runs on hydrogen fuel cells; turn the ignition and the car instantly (and silently) churns out  enough electricity  to power six houses. So how does that much raw, green power feel? Check it out as senior associate editor Sean Captain takes the Equinox on a spin up the Vegas Strip.


   

9 Comments

how much is the car as is.
how much will it be in mass production.
how much is fuel cost per mile

How green is it? Please remember my friends that hydrogen is produced using electricity. The electricity is produced by electrical power plants. The hydrogen fuel for this car is only as green as the electrical power production that produced the hydrogen.

I think this is the only alternative energy source that will clean up the environment. I would like to own one of these cars.

Show me the results of some rear end crashes first, then tell me how green it actually is compared to petroleum.

a lot more info neede to make an informed decision. How far can it go on one fill up and obviously you need places to obtain refills.

Like Henry said, this is not an energy source. How is this better than a car that runs on electric batteries? I hope the industry starts to finally develop small, short-rage electric vehicles. SUVs are so overkill for commuting and running errands!

When it comes to repairs how much can we expect to pay and which parts will likely need replacing?

Of course, Hydrogen is not an energy source but an energy storage medium. What you need is a clean and sustainable SOURCE to really make a difference. It's sad that the government can spend 400 billion a year on a war but shy away when we need 1 billion for coal gasification that could both resolve foreign dependence and reduce carbon emissions to... well... nothing... although since artificial emisions (27billion metric tonnes per year) are still a proverbial drop in the carbon cycle bucket (~700-800 billion tonnes per year) we still have to address restoring rainforest (that means restoring the earths natural ability to absorb Co2) to stop rising Co2 levels...

To answer a few of these querstions:

1. Hydrogen fuel cells are purely solid state, there are no moving parts so they are highly reliable and require little maintenance. Imagine a car that runs on a wound up rubber band. It's almost that simple...

2. Of course the technology will come at a premium at first, just like every other innovation in our wonderful capitalist economy since its inception.

3. Hydrogen has a much higher energy density per gram than the best batteries. That means you waste less energy to move your fuel around with you.

4. Carbon fiber reinforced tanks are very safe, not to mention they will be relatively small, light and therefore more impact resistant when compared to a standard gas tank.



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