Two Japanese companies have come up with alternative ways to get hydrogen for fuel cells – one from dough and the other from human waste.

Kajima suggests microbes can created hydrogen from human waste. A prototype has alread been created that generated 130W from a cubic meter of waste. Commercially available by about 2020.

Not sure what she is holding there...

Sapporo Breweries, the beer maker, thinks microbes can decompose waste dough at bakery factories and generate hydrogen. hydrogen from excess cookie dough!? The brewery wants to sell its idea to food-processing plants some time next year. After that, to homes that could use their waste could follow. 25K liters of hydrogen from 125kg of waste.

I don’t know about you, but when I make cookies, I like to eat some of the dough. I hope somebody doesn’t get confused when making hydrogen from cookie dough and human waste and put their fingers in the wrong pile.

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Daimler’s F-Cell Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle was parked at the 2008 SF Auto Show this week when I attended. Other than Toyota’s Fuel Cell car, well half of it, this was as close as I had come to the car of the future. Meaning the hydrogen fuel cell car will always be in the future.

Based on an extended version of the current Daimler A-Class chassis, the F-CELL has a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel cell that powers the vehicle and sports 72kW (97hp). Of course there’s also an electric motor that outputs 65kW (87 hp) an drives the front wheels. With two onboard hydrogen fuel tanks pressurized at 350 bar (5000 psi) Daimler’s F-CELL goes for 177 km (111 miles) and reaches a top speed of 140 kph (87 mph).

Nothing but water vapors for emissions and unlimited resource in hydrogen. All we need is the infrastructure to support refueling and orders to justify mass production to the point of bring the price per unit.

The cars ARE ready and they don’t look bad at all.

I got to attend the 51st Annual Auto Show in San Francisco. I went for the intent of seeing what’s going on in the green world. Being in Northern California, I expected to see a whole lot more than I did. Still, I saw some. Some pics will follow in subsequent posts, including a $455,000 Porsche.

Here I discovered the reason why Toyota expects its version of the Fuel Cell vehicle to not only have zero emissions but also to get really really good mileage.

Take a look and see if you can figure out why, too.

Toyota came out with great news today about an advanced fuel-cell vehicle with a maximum cruising range of 830 km (516 miles) on a full tank of hydrogen. Fuel cell vehicles are running on hydrogen which is both cheap and inexhaustible, emits only water and offer the same driving experience which may lead us to considering them against traditional cars.

Image by Masaru Kamikura

The improved FCHV-adv version is a hybrid that also uses an electric engine to switch to, features a bigger fuel tank, has a double maximum storage pressure, a better braking system, a nickel-metal hydride battery and is 25 more fuel efficient than its predecessor.

It should go head to head with Honda’s latest FCX Clarity, a sporty-looking fuel-cell sedan with a maximum cruising range of 620 km (385 miles) on a single tank and in temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius (-22F) up to 95 degrees Celsius (203F).

Though overseas plans are not yet defined and prices not yet announced, the zero emissions FCHV-adv model will be leased in the United States starting next month and later this year it should be available to government agencies in Japan. It should be showcased next month at the G8 Summit in Toyako as a test-ride, if you plan to take a closer look.

Image by fowlmouth76

It’s the competition between Honda and Toyota – the only automakers to put a fuel-cell vehicle on the road – that could lead to worldwide production of these models. I’d sure like to pay cheaper for my road trips, wouldn’t you? Though, the only drawback could be the lack of hydrogen fuelling stations and the high price we may have to pay for such a car.

We probably need them, right?