Originally published December 18 2005
Canadian company finds favor with truckers thanks to its hydrogen fuel injection system
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Canadian Hydrogen Energy's hydrogen injection system is catching on with American truckers, who like its increased horsepower and reduced fuel costs, in addition to the reduction of polluted emissions.
HFI is a bolt-on, aftermarket part that injects small amounts of hydrogen into the engine air intake, said Canadian Hydrogen Energy's Steve Gilchrist.
Fuel efficiency and horsepower are improved because hydrogen burns faster and hotter than diesel, dramatically boosting combustion efficiency.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology published research on the uses of hydrogen as a combustion-enhancing agent in the early 1970s.
Unlike crude oil, natural gas, wind or solar energy, hydrogen doesn't exist freely in nature.
It costs $5 a gallon to make hydrogen from natural gas.
But the HFI system uses electricity from an engine's alternator to power the electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen as needed from small amounts of distilled water.
"That's a big advantage and a bit of a novelty," said Venki Raman, an expert on hydrogen-energy applications who started Protium Energy Technologies.
HFI's manufacturer guarantees 10 percent fuel savings, which likely won't interest car companies or consumers, Raman said.
Trucks with the HFI system produce half the amount of particulates -- microscopic, unburned bits of diesel.
The system also reduces nitrogen-oxide emissions, which are major contributors to harmful air pollution, by up to 14 percent, according to Canada's Environmental Technology Verification Program.
It will take at least until 2040 before fuel cells begin to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the National Hydrogen Association, Gilchrist pointed out.
"We vehemently disagree with governments picking the fuel cell as the single path to a cleaner environment," he said.
Gilchrist recently argued just this point in meetings with California officials, who are considering buying prototype fuel-cell vehicles that will cost more than $1 million each.
That money could buy many HFI systems, which would provide "300 times" the air-pollution reductions of one fuel-cell vehicle, he said.
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