DC50 - DUAL FUEL EV

 

 

GREEN HYDROGEN OR BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE

 

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A team of student volunteers helped to build this gull wing sports car, to teach them design and welding skills, going back to the days when cars were hand built custom specials.

 

 

 

This custom built prototype was constructed in workshops occupied by Cleaner Ocean Foundation. The gullwing sports car was based on a space-frame - into which a hydrogen fuel cell and tank could be slotted. Or, a battery cartridge. The swap over taking minutes, interchangeably. The concept is the basis for a load-leveling National Grid, based on flat-pack service stations. To soak up all the free energy that offshore generators are at present paid to turn off.

 

 

 

 

 

This electric buggy could be converted to run on green hydrogen, via a fuel cell. It's a mystery why BMW did not include a solar panel roof, and a fuel cell option. Perhaps with a methanol reformer, for flexible use of the fuel cell. The fact is, that once again, there is an almost total lack of infrastructure. Green or Blue Methanol could use the present fossil fuel pumps, it is claimed.

 

 

 

 

The concept is solid in principle. Even ExxonMobil is considering investing in Blue Hydrogen. But, to date the missing ingredient is a willingness to abandon fossil fuels, and leap out onto an untested branch. We fully understand that, but what costs are we talking of? A couple of $million. $10 million. Big deal. What is that against the staggering quarterly profit of almost $20 billion (£17.3 billion) in October 2022. Now, the oil giant is up in arms about windfall taxes, claiming investment will suffer. More likely dividends to investors. Especially, if investors get wind of practical alternatives just around the corner.

 

Then their oil refineries become redundant. As do their oil wells.

 

 

 

 

 

In a show of good faith, the Foundation constructed a model service station at 1:20 scale, to show how to store energy as hydrogen, that would otherwise be wasted. Would you believe, utilities are relying on giant (centralized) underground hydrogen caverns and stealing power back from EV owners (V2G), who think they have a full charge for work the next day. These SmartNet flatpacks can be installed anywhere they are needed, to provide a flexible National Grid. The concept appears to be too simple, for energy distributors to grasp. Forget the MPs and civil servant policy makers, entrenched in park and charge. The logistics of which just does not stack up.

 

This is a proposed 3.6 - 7.2MW station design at present. You'd need 135 of these beauties to = the 1GW current EU capacity. So 810 units in Europe to satisfy 'Phase 1' (6GW) by 2024. 'Phase 2' would need 5,400 SmartNet™ stations to equal 40GW by 2030. Subject to confirmation during RIA R&D, it could be that these smart service facilities are part of the solution that Europe seeks in meeting their green hydrogen targets. If they take the blinkers off. For example, what are they going to do with all the electrolyzers beloved of Ursula Von der Layen, when they are blazing out hydrogen - with no takers!

 

There are 600,000 fossil fuel stations in the world that need to be replaced to eliminate our reliance on ICE vehicles in the long term.

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

WATER TEST TANK - Shown here in November 2022, Now separated by an additional moisture proof partition. This is the water basin that is used to trial scale model, for sea-keeping and hull drag. Featuring wind making fans that are useful to test roll stability when large solar arrays are deployed. 

 

THE ROBOT LAB: The robotics laboratory roofed and dry with power and lighting to enable further development of scale models used for testing, without taking workshop space that is used for constructing full size components.

 

 

 

It's a simple idea. The technology already exists. But the next stage will require more investment than the time and energy of a couple of students, and one volunteer designer. Though the project was shelved after the 2020 application fiasco. The Foundation stands ready by way of IP consultancy. Should utilities be required to diversify the investment and consider new technological solutions. Free of discrimination.

 

 

 

 

 

BREAD & BUTTER - Welding equipment has been at the heart of our prototyping. These machines have seen some serious action in our workshops over the years. Investment repaid several times over, and the results we are very happy with. Bean counters should perhaps consider what has been achieved with so little. Not, how much is in the bank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

OLDER GERMAN TECHNOLOGY - This air cooled 4 cylinder, boxer engine, was designed by Professor Ferdinand Porsche, for Adolf Hitler's Peoples Car: Volkswagen. Porsche was into electric cars with Lohner wheel motors, and battery exchange in the early years of motoring, but was soon swept along by the Infernal Combustion Engine. He did manage to build a hybrid with onboard petrol engine, driving a generator. Then quit on EVs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. Who wants a hydrogen car that runs on blue or green methanol. None of the big producers that is for sure. And certainly not Tesla, having invested in batteries in China and a whopping production line. According to the media, Elon Musk hates hydrogen. We ask how is it that producers of EVs, have not thought much about the missing link: the infrastructure. Possibly, and you may agree, they don't want to rock the boat. It is incumbent on politicians to force innovation. Red Flags will always be flying to disruptive technology, where dividends to investors are concerned.

 

 

 

We applied to the Automotive Transformation Fund (Application number "80078") on the 4th of August 2020. Under the heading: "Hydrogen Battery." This related to SmartNet dual purpose Grid load levelling EV service stations. Unfortunately, the Rolls-Royce engineer making such application no longer works for COF Ltd.

Even if there was good reason not to help us with this development, we would have expected feedback. A feature of other applications. Including those to Europe.

But we were blank walled. No feedback was provided by Innovate UK or (APC) Innovate UKRI, to be able to expand on the reason for not receiving such financial assistance. Though, several requests were made at the time, in the hope of being able to understand policy making and existing policies - that in the view of the Foundation, may have contributed to the stagnation in real terms, in transitioning from fossil fuels, to renewables. We even wrote to our MP about the total lack of transparency.

 

The UK may have known at that time from Military Intelligences, that Russia had eyes on the Ukraine, leading most obviously to a potential energy crisis in Europe, but (as it appears) did not think to hedge bets conservatively. Only recently have Scottish wind farms been accepted as a hydrogen export Gold Mine, though, the opportunity was there all along.

 

 

 

 

 

  A HAND CONSTRUCTED SPORTS CAR WITH GULL WING DOORS, DESIGNED TO RUN ON GREEN HYDROGEN OR LITHIUM BATTERIES

 

 

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