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Genepax: The Car That Runs On Water

MrRING

Android Futureman
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Messages
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So - is this the mythical water car we've been dreaming of?

LINK

Genepax Water Energy System Makes Cars Fueled by Water a Reality

Running cars fueled by water used to be just a figment of science fiction flicks--not anymore. Japanese company Genepax Co Ltd presented the prototype of its vehicle which runs purely out of water and air through a fuel cell system called WES or Water Energy System. While the nitty-gritty of the technology is kept under wraps (as would be expected), we're informed of how it (generally) works. The secret of running a car on water is apparently the use of a special membrane electrode assembly (MEA). Genepax's MEA is capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction. In short, although the car is fueled by water, it's hydrogen that really runs it

Unlike other hydrogen-powered cars though, the Genepax technology eliminates the need for a hydrogen tank or a hydrogen reformer and even a catalyst. Moreover, unlike systems runs on direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC), carbon dioxide isn't a byproduct (which is one of the limiting factors of DFCs, by the bye). Genepax has already unveiled a 120W fuel cell stack and a 300W fuel cell system recently, with plans to bump those output figures up to 1kW for use in vehicles and residential homes. The current cost of production of a single car ran by Genepax's system US$18,522, but the company plans to scale it down to US$4630 for mass production.
 
No. It's still using a chemical reaction, all it's doing is releasing energy stored in the chemicals.

You could do essentially the same thing with a lump of metallic sodium.

However, if they have a compact and efficient means of storing and releasing energy that has high enough energy density to compete with petrol, it might well be viable as a means of powering cars of the future. You'd still have to generate the electricity to do it somewhere, but it solves the big problem of how to run a car from a wind turbine.
 
Weren't there press reports 10 or 15 years ago regarding an engine that supposedly ran on liquid nitrogen, with the only emission being water?
 
Although you can get membranes that will separate mixtures of substances (eg, in the desalination of water) I don't see how a membrane could separate chemical compounds.

It takes energy to separate water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, and recombining these will release exactly the same amount of energy.

A catalyst may facilitate certain chemical reactions, but it doesn't magic up any extra energy from out of the blue. This genepax thing sounds like something for nothing - but I hope I'm wrong!
 
There is still a Genepax website at:

https://www.genepax.com/index.html

... but it doesn't seem to have been updated since circa 2016.

This site touts electrolysis units to support hydrogen-fuel applications, but refers all visitors over to another site:

electricity4gas.com

... which is either extinct or disabled.
 
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