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Center
for Hydrogen Research gets first Hydrogen Truck
The Center
for Hydrogen Research (CHR) and URS Washington Division rolled
out South Carolina’s first hydrogen fueled vehicle,
the eTec Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (HICE) vehicle,
a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. A $175,000.00 grant
provided by URS Washington Division was used to fund the project.
The vehicle was converted to be fueled by pure hydrogen from
gasoline by Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation
(eTec), a subsidiary of ECOtality (OTCBB: ETLY), of Arizona,
with technical assistance from project partners Roush Industries
and Powertech Labs. The eTec HICE Silverado is the first
eTec converted hydrogen vehicle to be registered and operated
in the United States.
The HICE
Silverado is an OEM-quality conversion of the Chevrolet 1500
pickup using the Vortec 6.0 liter engine. With the expertise
of eTec, Roush and Powertech, the HICE Silverado is built
to the highest quality and meets the latest hydrogen standards.
Except
for the unique exterior design, the modified Silverado is
indistinguishable from a gasoline powered vehicle and very
little appears different under the hood. The engine
is equipped with special injectors; a modified fuel system
includes an intercooler and turbocharger coupled to a completely
redesigned and modified computer control system. Three
hydrogen cylinders are located in the bed of the truck to
provide hydrogen for a range of approximately 200 miles.
The truck is powered solely by hydrogen.
The vehicle
will provide a real-world test bed for the development and
evaluation of hydrogen storage systems, the critical link
in advancing automotive hydrogen technology. The Savannah
River National Laboratory (SRNL) will be able to test
hydrogen storage technology without having extensive modifications
to a test vehicle. Additionally, eTec and Roush will
train instructors from Aiken Technical College in the service
and maintenance of the truck. When coupled with
ATC’s introduction this year of fuel cell and hydrogen
curricula, this vehicle will provide a practical source for
instruction in this advanced technology. FULL
STORY >>>
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