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As soon
as Cowgill had finished with his exegesis, Millennium’s Strizki embarked
upon another, starting with the aspect of hydrogen fuel-cell technology
that’s drawn the most criticism over the years: hydrogen itself.
An invisible, explosive gas, it continues to evoke hard, practical questions,
not the least of them being how to compress and safely stow it, whether
in a car or onboard a boat. Moreover, while systems that reform or extract
hydrogen from gasoline or methanol—whether onboard or ashore—may
reduce emissions and fossil-fuel dependence to some extent, they eliminate
neither.
“But
this device,” Strizki told me, pointing first toward an enigmatic
apparatus atop the fuel-cell stack and then toward a plastic fuel tank
filled with a clear, watery liquid, “is altogether different. Instead
of reformed hydrogen, or compressed or cooled-liquid hydrogen in tanks,
it creates hydrogen on an as-needed basis using a simple mixture of salt
and water.”
“Salt
and water?” I responded in disbelief.
Strizki
hastened to explain that the salt the Millennium Hydrogen-on-Demand system
uses is not the common table variety but sodium borohydride, a white powder
manufactured from the common soap product borax (see “Salt?,”
this story). When combined with water in the presence of a proprietary
catalyst, it generates hydrogen on demand, together with some heat and
a recyclable borate residue.
Salt
and water, eh? Can you blame me for being just a tad enthusiastic about
cranking up the Herreshoff’s hydrogen fuel cell powerplant? I virtually
leapt onboard. Then came Cowgill, Strizki, and Duffield, who got behind
the wheel and gave the helm-mounted touchpad a couple of taps. In seconds
we were maneuvering away from the dock, although the process was not overtly
dramatic. The powerplant emitted nothing more than a faint, refrigerator-like
hum and a trickle of cooling water. “Darn near silent,” I commented
in amazement.
We sea-trialed
our Herreshoff for the next three hours. With an 8.6-mph top end, our
test vessel ran just shy of the 9-mph top speed I’d recorded for
the hybrid. Handling felt exactly the same, and so did throttle response.
Sound levels were generally lower than the hybrid’s, and operating
efficiencies were higher. Range at half-throttle (about 5 mph), for example,
was approximately 218 miles, while range at roughly the same speed for
the hybrid was only about 95 miles. And what’s more, there was no
smell and no smoke!
“Cool?”
inquired Duffield with an adventurous glint in his eye. The guy sees zero-emissions
fuel-cell technology carving a serious niche in the marine marketplace
over the next decade, first for gensets, then for high-horsepower, passenger-ferry-type
applications, then finally for recreational cruisers. And he sees his
little company surfing the big, fat, fun wave.
“Cool,”
I replied, darn near totally convinced that Duffield’s darn near
totally right.
Anuvu
Fuel Cell Products Phone: (916) 921-7040. www.anuvu.com.
Duffy
Boats Phone: (800) 645-1044. www.duffyboats.com.
Millennium
Cell Phone: (732) 542-4000. www.millenniumcell.com.
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