Nissan unveils world's first Solid-Oxide Fuel Cell vehicle

YOKOHAMA, Japan – In Brazil today, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today revealed the world's first Solid Oxide Fuel-Cell (SOFC)-powered prototype vehicle that runs on bio-ethanol electric power.

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[tenj]

It's very charming, that Nissan does not hire professional models as speakers but the real Engeneers that made everthing possible. Very honest marketing.

[ruiz]

2020 is right around the corner Nissan. Where is our ethanol electric car? I want one :)

[liamm]

A solid oxide fuel cell vehicle meant to run on autogas LPG (a propane/butane mixture) would also be a good idea. While it wouldn't be carbon neutral, it would be more efficient than an ICE vehicle.

[ziasong]

With the exception of solar & wind powered fast-charging stations, this is even better than pure electric cars sucking power from CO2 emitting coal-fired and turbine power plants.

[simasima]

I like the innovation which Nissan uses for its future automobiles generation, I wish I work for this part of Nissan company as a researcher one day.

[kakistocracyusa]

Establishes almost nothing. Many have been working on automotive SOFC APU's for last couple decades. Anyone developing them can stick a small SOFC in a car.

What actually matters is:
(a) how much does it cost to own and operate it?
(b) how long does it last before "maintenance" requirements.

[glaubersouza]

Qual o tempo de durabilidade desta celula de combustível?

[hinnovationlabhil]

Thank you from 'H2 Innovation Lab' H2IL - technology for a green sustainable hydrogen future..

[mariovidmar]

It would make sense to have an option solid oxide fuel cell hybrid electric car that is run by bio fuels and lpg cng and small 20 to 40 kw sodium ion /sulfate battery to store energy excess energy that can work both mode, same as hydrogen proton exchange membrane sodium ions battery hybrid because infrastructure is already there and for hydrogen it needs to be modernized ( they can store ammonia which separate it self into nitrogen and hydrogen, either in car fuel cell or on gas station storage which pumps nitrogen into nitrogen gas generator to produce electricity, I’m sure small scale electric gas turbine can manufacture for hydrogen car that is positioned near the exhaust pipe which than mix both residue nitrogen gas and some of water byproduct to dissolve it ( since nitrogen is soluble in water).

[hmnthr]

What is the operating temperature of the fuel cell? How do you guys maintain the temperature?

[danieldombai]

I will build a factory for this model when i reach millionarity🎉

[rodrigorc]

Hi, I'm from Brazil, they spotted my house at 0:52. :/

[babyelian]

Just curious, isn't a methanol fuel cell pratically simpler than an ethanol FC (and methanol itself easier to produce than ethanol) ?

[havekrub]

Is this similar to direct methanol fuel cell ?

[wilsonantunes]

Parece-me uma parvoíce transformar o Etanol em Hidrogénio dentro do veículo. pois acarreta mais custos e mais peso a transportar pelo veículo. Essa transformação deveria ser feita fora do veículo. Se for mais fácil transportar (para as estações de serviço) o etanol do que o hidrogénio então a produção de hidrogénio poderia ser nas próprias estações de serviço que comprariam o etanol e venderiam o hidrogénio.

[tanhockjun]

so Nissan can create new generator with this new technology?

[jacksparrow-ossg]

the best source for bioethanol is not sugarcane but nypa fruticans . refer to :



Nipa (Nypa fruticans) is a high sugar-yielding palm that can be found along coastal areas, river estuaries and mangrove forests with brackish water environments. By removing the infructescence of this plant, it ispossible to collect a sugar-rich sap from its stalk on a daily basis for a minimum of 60 days in the Philippines and up to 340 days in Malaysia . Furthermore, nipa sap production ranges from 0.5 to 2.5 L/palm/day with an average sugar content of 16.4 w/v% .

Nipa is an abundant plant material in Asia, where it is regarded as a non-threatened and underutilized sugar-yielding palm. It is noteworthy that nipa sap was recently assessed as a high potential feedstock for bioethanol production. In fact, estimated annual
ethanol yield of 3, 600–22, 400 L/ha/year from nipa sap makes it an attractive raw material for ethanol production compared to sugarcane and corn, which afford yields of 5, 300–6, 500 and 3, 100–3, 900 L/ha/year, respectively. Nipa sap could therefore become a promising source of sugars for manufacturing bioproducts.

Nipa play a specific and important role in the global carbon cycle by absorbing carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, storing carbon above and below ground, and producing oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis. In the presence of increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, nypa plantations can become even more vital by removing CO2 from the atmosphere to mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment

[zodiacfml]

How does it work? A quick visit to Wiki shows that it requires an hour start up time? Why ethanol?

[PETERJOHN]

The oil companies promote this because it keeps the fossil fuel production loop in place. With advances in battery storage, however, similar advances in solar will increase sufficiently to replace fossil fuels completely. It appears the oil players have both Toyota and Nissan going to bat for them, but in the end solid state batteries will win out.

[michaellamb]

I see that this is a very old video, so I wonder why nothing has been done with e-bio since? One reason I can easily see is that this tech requires food crops as the fuel source. So if e-bio ever does come into common vehicle use you can expect your food bills to be MUCH more expensive since the crop land you used to get your dinner off of is now used for making alcohol for cars. Also this type of fuel ignores the massive other energy inputs such crops REQUIRE to grow: fertilizers, water, energy to harvest and process the crop into alcohol, etc. Also water in many western US states is in very short supply now! Imagine how bad that will get if e-bio is ever put into mass production! You will be getting very thirsty! So in short we need a better option from Nissan and everyone else interested in promoting this bio tech!