FUEL CELLS
who has founded hydrogen fuel cell car
company Riversimple, agrees. “The battery
and hydrogen vehicle fraternities are both
better off in a world where the other one has
success as well. It eases the pressure on
batteries and also on hydrogen. The idea of
a billion cars on the planet all running on
batteries is delusional,” he says.
“Batteries are great for short range, but we
can make a more e cient hydrogen car for any
range of over 150 miles. So, we need both, but
for diff erent applications. We can achieve the
right outcome with a better quality of life if we
have a mixture of solutions and for a lower
price and much quicker.”
Fueling infrastructure
Perhaps the biggest challenge to the wider
adoption of hydrogen has been the cost of
infrastructure installation, however as more
OEM’s start to produce commercial vehicles
powered by fuel cell powertrains and customer
fl eets begin to grow, the economics of refueling
stations will begin to change for the better.
“We are starting to see far more interest and
commitment from the traditional refueling
companies who are beginning to adopt their
own alternative refueling strategies, be that
hydrogen refueling dispensers or battery
electric recharging points,” says Sylvie Childs.
“You have to consider the wider picture in
terms of storage of renewable energy, within
which hydrogen has signifi cant advantages
over batteries. The end result will be a fuel that
powers emission-free vehicles, which itself is
produced and stored in an environmentally
sound way. However, until all modes across the
glove can be zero emissions we believe that
customers will need a choice therefore we have
complementary technologies, including
e cient combustion engines.”
British engineer and
entrepreneur
Hugo Spowers,
www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com // July 2019 // 119
1. Inside a Toyota’s fuel
cell electric Mirai
2. Riversimple’s
Hydrogen fuel cell car,
the Rasa
3. Hyundai’s fuel cell
powertrain
4. Hyundai’s Nexo, its fi rst
vehicle to be designed as
fuel cell electric from the
ground up
3
4
/www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com