New device brings hydrogen fuel to older vehicles

Little white box creates energy from water and your vehicle battery

By JANE GEORGE

MONTREAL — What if you could save money and help fight global warming all at the same time?

According to its promoters, a little white box would be able to reduce gas bills and cut down on emissions by using hydrogen to boost fuel efficiency.

The best part of the H2 N-Gen, from Innovative Hydrogen Solution, Inc. of Winnipeg, is that it can be retrofitted at a relatively low cost on cars, trucks, boats and snowmobiles.

“Most people have an old car, so with the H2 N-Gen, you don’t have to buy a new car,” said company spokesperson Peter Romaniuk, who was at Canada’s World of Solutions exhibition at the Montreal climate change conference last month to promote the new device.

This is how it works: the H2N-Gen holds a small reservoir of distilled water and other chemicals such as potassium to keep the water from freezing. A current is run from the car battery through the liquid.

This process, called electrolysis, creates hydrogen and oxygen gases, which are then fed into the engine’s intake manifold where they mix with the gasoline vapours.

Because hydrogen is much more flammable than gas, the spark plug ignites fuel at the top of the combustion chamber instead of in the middle, so the fuel burns more efficiently.

To put to rest any fears of hydrogen exploding, the company’s web site at www.IHSresearch.com, says the H2 N-Gen injects a very small amount of hydrogen and it’s not under pressure — so no “detonation” is possible. The device is also inside a plastic case capable of absorbing 6,000 pounds of pressure.

The module is expected to cost only about $1,000, so it should be attractive to consumers. Governments may also see a chance to bring down emissions.

The H2 N-Gen, which should come on to the market in 2006, has a lifetime of 10 years. All the vehicle owner has to do is refill the unit with distilled water once every 80 hours of engine use. Future generations of the H2 N-Gen will have a water reclamation process built-in.

With more than one billion combustion engines in the world, the manufacturers of the H2 N-Gen see a possibility of recouping their investment of $7.5 million in a short time after the device hits the market.

But first, they want the H2 N-Gen to be approved by the Canadian Environmental Technology Verification, a non-profit Toronto company licensed by the federal government to verify environmental technology.

This approval is expected in January.

Share This Story

(0) Comments