A professor from Middle Tennessee State University has succeeded creating a hydrogen-powered car that produces its own fuel using the sun. Dubbed “Forces of Nature,” the car (a 1994 Toyota Tercel) uses hydrogen extracted from an onboard water supply using solar power.
According to the professor, the hydrogen-powered vehicle will start on November 1st an over 500-mile journey from Blacksburg, Virginia to Little Rock, Arkansas.
Forces of Nature is equipped with a solar collector that produces clean electricity, which in turn runs the car’s solid polymer electrolysis unit. After the separation of water into its oxygen and hydrogen, which takes place inside this unit, the hydrogen is compressed at 6,000 psi, and stored in two 500-gallon tanks.
After this process, the hydrogen is manually moved into the vehicle’s dual fuel tanks (both weigh about 4.2kg). The new green car will complete its one-day journey by traveling at an average speed of 58mph. As the MTSU scientist said, his coupe offers a range of 336 miles. He also plans a driving trip across the U.S. using only 10 gallons of gasoline next year.
[via Ecofriend]
