Fuel cell vehicles

A fuel cell is a device that converts chemical energy from a fuel to electrical energy through chemical reactions. Hydrogen is most commonly used . Methanol can also be used. There are numerous types in fuel cells but they all have a few common components viz., anode ,cathode and electrolyte.

The history of fuel cells date as early as 1830s .NASA stood first in the commercial usage of fuel cells to generate power in satellites . Fuel cells primarily find their application as power backup in industries ,commercial and residential buildings . Usage of fuel cells for transportation is gaining momentum round the globe.

A Fuel Cell Vehicle or a Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FECV) is a type of hydrogen vehicle which uses hydrogen as a fuel to generate electricity  . They use the hydrogen and oxygen available in the air.

Forklifts and material handling vehicles commonly use hydrogen fuel cells in industries. All major automobile manufacturers such as Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, Fiat, Nissan, Mazda etc have released fuel cell powered vehicles. But the availability of FECV in the commercial market is at present nil. 

There are over 100 fuel cell buses deployed around the world today. Most of these buses are produced by UTC Power, Toyota, Ballard, Hydrogenics, and Proton Motor. Fuel cell buses have a 30-141% higher fuel economy than diesel buses and natural gas buses.

Fuel cell powered forklifts are one of the largest sectors of fuel cell applications in the industry. Fuel cell powered forklifts provide significant benefits over both petroleum and battery powered forklifts as they produce no local emissions, can work for a full 8 hour shift on a single tank of hydrogen, can be refueled in 3 minutes and have a lifetime of 8–10 years. Fuel cell powered forklifts give out lesser Green House Gas emissions. They require lesser maintenance, refueling and labor costs.

In 2005 the British firm Intelligent Energy produced the first ever working hydrogen run motorcycle called the ENV (Emission Neutral Vehicle). The Suzuki Burgman fuel cell scooter is a lower carbon, zero tail pipe emission vehicle with a practical range and rapid refueling. It recently became the first fuel cell vehicle to achieve the EU Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA). 

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  In 2008, The Boeing Fuel Cell company achieved straight-level flight on a manned mission powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.Fuel cells help airplanes reduce carbon emissions.

The world's first fuel cell boat was 'Hydra'. It has a capacity to hold 22 people. Its debut was in the year 2000 at Germany. 

 

The only submersible applications of fuel cells are the Type 212 submarines of the German and Italian navies. 

 

A recent study reveals that fuel cells release more carbon dioxide than new gas plants. Fuel cells on average emit 884 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour (mWh) of electricity produced. While that's not a bad reduction compared to 2,249 pounds for a coal-fired plant, it's not a whole lot less than 1,135 for an existing natural gas plant.

On par with any other renewable energy source, fuel cells too have darker sides . Their cost is also high.But the efficiency of fuel cells are comparatively higher  .

The Greener Architecture

Green buildings are environment friendly buildings with respect to construction, components, operation, maintenance and even demolition."A building which can function using an optimum amount of energy, consume less water, conserve natural resources, generate less waste and create spaces for healthy and comfortable living, as compared to conventional buildings, is a green building", defines Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). All the appliances used leave no carbon foot print and help in environmental protection. They greatly reduce the impact  on the fellow beings and also the Mother Earth.They avert pollution by having efficient methods of waste disposal and management . By this way they contribute to sustainable environment.

The construction is made in such a way to utilize the natural resources (sun,wind , etc.)to the maximum extent.This green architecture combines the efforts of architects , environmental engineers, energy engineers ,corporates,landscape architects , interior decorators, Government agencies and all other experts who work for the Nature. Greener aspects can also be retrofitted to the existing non-green buildings.

The Green Building Certification Institute is the prime body to certify Green buildings globally. They do it through third party certification."Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) " is a suite of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes and neighborhoods. It was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

LEED provides certification in  four levels - Certified( 40–49 points) , Silver ( 50–59 points) , Gold   ( 60–79 points) and Platinum ( 80 points and above ). Points are distributed across major credit categories such as Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality.

The nodal agency for green building certification in India is the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) . Its vision is "To enable a sustainable built environment for all and facilitate India to be one of the global leaders in sustainable built environment by 2025".It was formed in the year 2001 by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

ISO 21931-1:2010 provides a general framework for improving the quality and comparability of methods for assessing the environmental performance of buildings and their related external works.

The most "sustainable building" in the world as of June 2013 is "The Change Initiative (TCI)"  on Shaikh Zayed Road, Dubai. It has been rated Platinum by the LEED with 107 points out of 110.“Congratulations on setting a new record with your LEED for Commercial Interiors Platinum project. The store is a great prototype for sustainable real estate applicable worldwide,” S. Richard Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chairman of the US GBC and Chairman of the World GBC, said in his letter to Gundeep Singh, TCI Founder and CEO.

India's first Platinum rated green building is "CII-Godrej GBC, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh ". This building located in an area of 20,000 square feet  was rated in 2003 .

Recently on august 16,2013 India got certified for its first Green Stadium .  The Thyagraj Stadium, built by Delhi Government ahead of the Commonwealth Games was rated Gold by the IGBC.

The world is pushed to go green in almost all aspects of life. Greener construction is in no way an exception .

                   Go Green !

Windward TamilNadu turning Leeward for energy sector

Wind energy is one of the chief contributors to renewable energy in India.Wind power accounts for 8.5% of India's total installed power capacity, and it generates 1.6% of the country's power.As of 31 Jan 2013 the installed capacity of wind power in India is 19564.95 MW, mainly spread across Tamil Nadu (7154 MW), Gujarat (3,093 MW), Maharashtra (2976 MW), Karnataka (2113 MW), Rajasthan (2355 MW).

Tamil Nadu leads the country in the installed capacity and generation of wind power.Wind is the chief contributor of power in Tamil Nadu (23 %) . It accounts to almost 90% of the total renewable energy contribution.

The major drawback of wind energy is the lower efficiency.Practically only 30-35 % is achieved.The reasons are mechanical losses,conversion losses and the production varies with season.Expected generation can be achieved only if there is a minimum velocity of 18 kmph.Hence Wind Power Plants cannot be established in all areas. More over it costs around Rs.7 crores to set up a 1 MW wind power plant whereas thermal and solar power plants require Rs. 5 crores and Rs.4 crores respectively. This reduces the number of investors.

Though there are many liabilities , Tamil Nadu draws investors in Wind due to its higher potential.

The key investors include Suzlon energy Ltd,Aban Loyd Chiles Offshore Ltd.,Wescare (India) Ltd., Madras Cements Ltd.,Subash Ltd.,Shalivahana Green Energy. Ltd.,Kethanur Wind Farm.,etc in the regions of  Palghat Pass, Shencottah Pass,Aralvoimozhi Pass and Kambam Pass.On the tariff front as well, Tamil Nadu offers the lowest at Rs.3.51 per kilowatt-hour compared with states such as Gujarat (Rs.4.23) and Rajasthan (Rs.5).

But now the captive power of Tamil Nadu is under peril  as the wind is favourable  neither for new investors nor for addition by existing investors.Experts fear the second and third position holders       ( Gujarat and Maharashtra ) might take over the lead.

Leading companies have started switching over to other forms of energy.Few other companies have started selling their shares. Experts state " Inadequate infrastructure, delayed payments, and lack of incentives are discouraging further investment in the sector".

The demotions are also due to seasonality of wind.They are  principally restricted to a shorter duration.(May to October). The gain does not stay constant which hits bad during off-seasons.

Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corp. Ltd (Tangedco),the nodal agency for power in Tamil Nadu has reported a loss of Rs.54,000 crore in 2011-12.The infrastructure too seems to be low.Facility shortages have lead to 15-20% losses in generation.

Thus natural phenomenons summed up with political and monetary issues build a barrier for a system with high potential.If situations pursue,Tamil Nadu will be pushed to a darker side.The depreciation can never be met unless there occurs a policy change with full reforms,higher infrastructure and an increase in tariff rates .

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India's Green Travel

Followed by India's projects to run Solar powered buses in key cities of Pune , Mumbai and Bengaluru , its now the Railways sector turning green .Marching forward in National Solar Mission , India makes utmost steps to turn greener.In Collaboration with The IIT-Madras , India strives to run pivotal express trains with Solar energy. Projects are under progress to run the AC coaches on solar power.

Indian Railways being one of the largest consumers of power in the country is in need of renewable energy to meet the power demand and hike in prices of fossil fuels.Its earlier efforts of using biodiesel and wind power to substantiate the need were not fruitful. Hence it had to turn back to grid system and diesel power.

But still the constant increase in the price of fossil fuels have taken them to trouble since increase in fares for a nationwide transportation system would not be possible.Therefore the next best alternative is the solar power.

Project feasibility is being tested and its success will greatly help not only the Indian Railways but also the Environment.