Hyundai Will Produce Zero Emissions Hydrogen Powered Cars By The End of 2012
For so long, those that know have been saying that a Hydrogen fuel cell is the only way for future vehicles to be powered. Space age stuff eh and of course, for those of you who remember “Hydrogen Bombs” of “H Bombs” its also very scary stuff. Forget the “atomic bomb”, a Thermonuclear Hydrogen bomb weighing little more than 1100kg, can produce an explosive force equivalent to that of 1.2 million tons of TNT, so it’s a might powerful thing that’s going on here.
Have no fear however what’s going to be parked outside your house or pass you on the street, is somewhat different, because In the case of the Hyundai, the fuel cell stack will convert the hydrogen into electricity, which in turn charges the Lithium Polymer battery and that powers the vehicle’s electric motor, which in turn, drives the wheels “and the music goes round and round and it comes out here!”, but in fact, all that comes out is water vapour.
The new zero emission fuel cell will be available in the Hyundai ix35 by the end of 2012, but its not intended this is going to be around in big numbers, but it’s hoped by 2015, that Hyundai’s manufacturing plant in Ulsan in Korea, will be able to produce around 1000 vehicles a year but going forward from 2015, Hyundai plans limited mass production of the ix35 Fuel Cell, with a goal of 10,000 units.
This isn’t a whim, as governments around the world are stepping up regulations to reduce carbon output and fossil fuel dependency, zero-emissions mobility solutions such as Hyundai’s ix35 Fuel Cell will become a driving force of change. The ix35 Fuel Cell aligns with the 2009 agreement by the European Union’s G8 countries to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 and California’s Zero Emission Vehicle regulations, so all the boxes ticked there then.
Hyundai has already signed contracts with cities in Denmark and Sweden to lease the ix35 Fuel Cell to municipal fleets, but the “ix35 Fuel Cell” wont be a car you can buy, its one that you will lease.
It’s claimed that Hyundai’s ix35 Fuel Cell boasts drivability and performance similar to that of the petrol ix35. The ix35 Fuel Cell can be filled with hydrogen in only a few minutes. It accelerates from zero to 62mph in 12.5 seconds, has a top speed of 160km/h (100mph) and can travel 588km (365miles) without refueling.
The ix35 Fuel Cell is the result of 14 years and significant financial investment in research and development by hundreds of engineers at Hyundai’s fuel cell R&D centre in Mabuk, Korea. The car has logged more than 2 million miles of road tests in real-world conditions in Europe, Korea and the U.S. In early 2012, a Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell set a range record for hydrogen cars by driving from Oslo to Monaco using only existing fuelling stations
