Gassing Up Gas-Free [Slide Show]
A look at the infrastructure necessary to make hydrogen hybrid automobiles a reality
Gassing Up Gas-Free [Slide Show]
- SMART PUMP: Currently, the Equinox fuels with two connectors, as seen here at the Shell station in White Plains, N.Y. The rear cable sends pressure and temperature data to the fuel dispenser, while the side hose conveys hydrogen. Brad Beauchamp, seen here refueling the car, says hydrogen pumps with infrared sensors can communicate with the car directly through the nozzle on the pump. Nozzles will be updated over the next few months, eliminating the need for two connectors. Courtesy of Eliot Caroom
- SAFETY CAMERA: This spectral camera overlooking the hydrogen pump at the White Plains, N.Y., Shell station watches for hydrogen flames, invisible in daylight. Three more cameras surround the compression area of the station. Should they detect a hydrogen flame, an emergency crew is automatically called to monitor the fire and cut off the source. Courtesy of Eliot Caroom
- FLUID-FREE: Three layers of material guard the Equinox's hydrogen charge: a carbon-fiber tank, metal sheaths and a plated undercarriage to ward off debris. The sleek undercarriage is remarkably clean after 5,475 miles (8,810 kilometers) because of a lack of fluids in the Equinox: no oil, gas, transmission fluid or power steering fluid. Courtesy of Eliot Caroom
- FILL'ER UP: The East Coast Equinox fleet is fueled at either the Ardsley, N.Y., facility, which uses "green hydrogen" produced as an industrial by-product, or at a White Plains, N.Y., Shell station, which buys electricity generated by the Niagara Falls hydropower project in western New York State. Courtesy of Eliot Caroom