{"id":11042,"date":"2016-08-06T15:24:57","date_gmt":"2016-08-06T22:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=11042"},"modified":"2016-08-06T15:24:57","modified_gmt":"2016-08-06T22:24:57","slug":"nissans-sofc-vehicle-just-in-time-for-the-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/nissans-sofc-vehicle-just-in-time-for-the-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"Nissan\u2019s SOFC Vehicle \u2013 Just in Time for the Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two major types of fuel cells vie for vehicle designers’ attention: PEM, or proton exchange membrane types,<\/a> and solid oxide fuels cells (SOFCs).<\/p>\n

PEMs (also known as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells) require an expensive catalyst such as platinum, and hydrogen as fuel. Hydrogen itself is costly to produce and runs up the operating cost for such a fuel cell.<\/p>\n

\"Schematic

Schematic for Nissan e-NV200 SOFC vehicle<\/p><\/div>\n

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. timed things to coincide with the 2016 Olympics opening in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the introduction of their solid oxide fuel cell vehicle, a van that runs on bio-ethanol electric power.\u00a0 Nissan\u2019s Carlos Ghosn claims this to be a first, with benefits for potential users.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe e-Bio Fuel-Cell offers eco-friendly transportation and creates opportunities for regional energy production\u2026all the while supporting the existing infrastructure. In the future, the e-Bio Fuel-Cell will become even more user-friendly. Ethanol-blended water is easier and safer to handle than most other fuels. Without the need to create new infrastructure, it has great potential to drive market growth.\u201d<\/p>\n