Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Vehicle Becomes Reality Thanks to Nissan

But first, it’s worth mentioning that the concept of solid oxide fuel cell isn’t new. A quick search on the Internet is just about enough to learn that SOFC is “an electrochemical conversion device that produces electricity directly from oxidizing a fuel.” In Nissan’s case, we’re talking about a quirky minivan which runs on the electricity provided by the SOFC, itself powered by bio-ethanol.

Dubbed Nissan e-Bio Fuel-Cell, the world’s first solid oxide fuel cell made its debut today, in Brazil of all places. That Brazil, where the Olympic Games start on August 6, the Brazil where poverty and criminality are through the roof.

“The e-Bio Fuel-Cell offers eco-friendly transportation and creates opportunities for regional energy production, all the while supporting the existing infrastructure. In the future, the e-Bio Fuel-Cell will become even more user-friendly. Ethanol-blended water is easier and safer to handle than most other fuels,” said Carlos Ghosn, the mastermind of Nissan.

Based on the e-NV200 pure electric minivan, the Nissan e-Bio Fuel-Cell is equipped with a bioethanol tank with a capacity of 30 liters, which is 7.9 U.S. gallons or 6.6 imperial gallons, and a 24 kWh battery. The latter, dear reader, is the lithium-ion battery pack you might also find in the Nissan Leaf.

Put simply, the bio-ethanol is tuned by the SOFC into electricity for the battery, then the battery sends its goodies to the electric motor, then propulsion happens. See? Told you it’s simple. In concept, that is. Would you care to guess how much can this modified minivan go on a tank of bio-ethanol? Nissan quotes “600 km-plus,” which is just about 373 miles.