Technology @lemmy.world misk @sopuli.xyz 10mo ago

GM’s hydrogen ‘power cubes’ will be used in cement mixers and terminal tractors

www.theverge.com GM’s hydrogen ‘power cubes’ will be used in cement mixers and terminal tractors

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe.

29 comments

If those tractors are terminal, I think this experimental treatment is worth it 🙏
- Thoughts and prayers!
With a small donation of one upvote that doesn’t actually exist, you can save these terminal tractors from a certain end to their lives.

Vote now
Missed opportunity to name these “energon cubes”
- Do you want evil robots from space? Because this is how you get evil robots from space
  
  Would that be better or worse than the evil humans from earth that we have now? I’m honestly not sure myself.
  
  Well, yeah.
  
  The real question becomes which side was actually the more evil one when you watch all the films apparently.
I'm becoming less of a hydrogen guy and more of an ammonia guy. Liquid ammonia seems easier to deal with than hydrogen gas.
- It is, but a leak could kill you. So 🤷‍♂️
  
  Same could be said for hydrogen since it's a tiny bit flammable.
  
  Yeah that's a problem. However, it might make more sense on balance if we have big nuclear power plants generating clean ammonia while off peak electric demand.
What tech does this use? Is the hydrogen compressed or captured into a temporary sink?
Hydrogen power is a grift. Run an extension for your damn cement mixer
- There are cases where getting power to a site would be a hurdle.
  
  There are mobile battery banks for a reason. Some handle 240 at 30 amp too.
- Electrify where you can, improve renewable fuels for where you can’t
- By extension, are you suggesting an extension cord for electric?
This is the best summary I could come up with:

Autocar, based in Birmingham, Ala., is a 126-year-old manufacturer of Class 7 and 8 work vehicles, including garbage trucks, cement mixers, terminal tractors, and more.

The company’s Hydrotec power cubs are lightweight, GM said, which enable large payloads, excellent range, and quick refueling.

Despite the technology having been in development for decades, there are only a little more than 50 fueling stations in California, mostly clustered around Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

The East Coast is trying to get in on the action, with a handful of stations up and running, and more in the works in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

Overcoming this challenge is important for light-duty vehicles because they often have limited size and weight capacity for fuel storage.

The hydrogen-powered generators are being sold to commercial and military customers to start out, but the automaker said it plans on offering versions for residential use in the future.

The original article contains 397 words, the summary contains 153 words. Saved 61%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

29 comments