Nissan Almera modified as Hydrogen Car

Dirk Kok of AMAP

Ecological vehicles are celebrating the arrival of the youngest member of their family, the HyPower Nissan Almera. Developed by a group of experts from the Sunderland University, it is powered by hydrogen. Actually, it is not a completely new car. The scientist team, led by Dirk Kok of AMAP (the Institute of Automotive and Manufacturing Advanced Practice), in collaboration with the Centre for Process Innovation based at Wilton, as well as Lambda One Autogas in Gateshead, has managed to adapt a Nissan Almera car to use hydrogen as fuel. This way, its exhaust only contains water. The car was unveiled yesterday during the Partners4Automotive 2008 conference held at the Sir Tom Cowie Campus of the University of Sunderland. The aim of the international conference is to show the local industry and business the latest top-notch developments in fields like alternative fuel technology for transporting systems.

Adrian Morris, Operations Manager at AMAP, praises the HyPower as an important breakthrough for the development of “green transport.” “This project marks a significant step forwards in our understanding of hydrogen as a fuel for the automotive industry. This vehicle will act as a test bed to evaluate novel hydrogen technologies in vehicles and will enhance the region’s status as an important automotive research and development centre.” Mr. Morris says. “The whole subject of hydrogen as a fuel for cars is intriguing. It all depends upon the price of oil, the driving range of these new green vehicles, ease of safely filling these vehicles, and the availability of competing systems, which we are also researching. The HyPower project does demonstrate that hydrogen is a practical and environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels. But though this is a significant step forward, there is still a long way to go before we see these vehicles driving about our roads,” adds Dirk Kok.

Interview with Sister Madonna: Triathlon champion with 78

I had the privilege to meet and interview an extraordinary woman in New York. Sister Madonna is a 78 old catholic nun from Spokane, Washington, who was not only dedicating her life to her religious life but also made history in the running scene. At 52 she ran her first race, soon after she completed a marathon in less than 3 1/2 hours. Since then she has participated in 20 Hawaiian Ironman races and 300 Triathlons throughout the world. At 78 she is by far the fastest in her age category. The whole interview lasted for almost one hour and it was amazing and fascinating to hear her stories and learn about her experiences. It has never been so hard for me to edit an interview because each sentence expresses a feeling and reveals her passion for God as well as for the triathlon world. I tried to condense the highlights into this 13-minute version illustrated with video footage from HBO as well as from members of our Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team. Watch this 15th episode of my monthly interview series LIFE Voices here on the blog. If you want to read the full 42-min version, check out srichinmoy.tv.