Sander van den Belt
Object from the future: Fuel Cell
http://www.toyota.nl/Images/tec_04_fuel_04_im_tcm27-147825.jpg
New
Fuel cells will be the future energy source for our cars and other transport vehicles. It is a promising technology, because a fuel cell has a high energy density for its weight and it is friendly to the environment.
Replace
The fuel cell will be a replacement for current energy sources. However, if the current demand keeps on rising then the world will be facing a petroleum shortage.
http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/tech/environment/fchv/image/02a_p1.gif
Therefore the hydrogen fuel cells are a welcome and necessary replacement which will reduce the dependency on petroleum.
Change
Growth
The key players in the world (Toyota and Honda in Japan, GM and Ford in US, and DaimlerChrysler in Europe) have already developed some prototypes and are testing them. The leading companies, Toyota and Honda, even have developed multiple generations of fuel cells. Since 2003 they have both been releasing fuel cell cars for everyday use in limited numbers. Still there are some implications to overcome, but as technology will improve more and more cars will be sold in the near future.
References
http://www.toyota.nl/Images/tec_04_fuel_01_im_tcm27-147822.jpg
- New - what is new about this object, what makes it different?
- Replace - what other objects does this object replace?
- Change - how could this object change its environment (remember the car example)?
- Growth - Are there many of these objects around, what are the growth statistics for these objects?
- Other - any other issues that you feel to be relevant
- References - where can the reader find more information on this object, and what other information support your claims that this is something new?