Two new fuel cell vehicles made their debut at the LA Auto Show (November 21-30, 2008).  Honda revealed its futuristic concept vehicle, the FC Sport (image below), a three-seat sportster with an ultra-low center of gravity.  Honda’s V Flow fuel cell technology was reconfigured for this sports vehicle, with the fuel cell located beneath the two rear seats, the battery placed low in the middle of the Sport and the electric motor just forward of the rear axle.  Two car’s two visible hydrogen tanks are located above the rear axle. Kia’s new Borrego FCEV (image above), the fourth generation of Hyundai-Kia’s FCEV program, features the company’s 115-kW fuel cell system and a lithium-ion battery in a hybrid-drive system and offers a zero starting capability down to -30C.  The SUV can attain a maximum speed of 100 mph with a traveling range of 315 miles.  The company plans to deploy a small fleet of the fuel cell Borregos on roadsways during 2010.  

The 2^nd China International Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Expo (HFCE 2008) will be next week, November 18^th-20^th, 2008, at the Shanghai Exhibition Center in Shanghai, China.  The main focus of HFCE 2008 is fuel cell applications in the telecommunications industry with a focus on the industrialization of 1-10-kW fuel cell systems.

12,000 attendees are expected, and our own Bob Rose will be giving a presentation on the U.S. fuel cell industry. For more information, please visit http://www.hfce.cn/.

China is emerging as a leading supporter of fuel cell technology so it will be interesting to see the exhibitions and announcements from participating companies.  If you are interested, Fuel Cells 2000 has a compilation of international roadmaps, initiatives, activities and programs.

Recently, it was announced that one of the leading auto manufacturers in China, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group (SAIC), was working on the development of fuel cell vehicles with fuel cell manufacturer Shanghai Shen Li High Tech Co. Ltd.  Three fuel cell vehicles have been developed using the popular Chao Yue vehicle which is based on Volkswagen’s Santana sedan.  The latest model, the Chao Yue III, can attain a top speed of 110 km/h using Shen Li’s 60-kw fuel cell.  The most recent development from the pairing, introduced in 2007, is the Shanghai fuel cell vehicle.  20 cars were deployed for the recent summer Beijing Olympics to shuttle VIPs, athletes and visitors around the city.

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We will be updating Fuel Cell Insider readers with pictures and updates from the show, so stay tuned.

For those of you in the US, don’t forget to get to those polls today! Whatever your political persuasion, make sure your voice is heard.

For a rundown of the candidates’ views on fuel cells and hydrogen, click here.