There was every conceivable type of environmentally friendly car on show at
the Tokyo motor show last week, but Honda scooped them all by announcing it
will be putting the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell car into production
next year.
The car will travel an estimated 270 miles at speeds of up to 100mph and will
produce only water vapour from its exhaust. It is expected to cost £50,000
and will be available initially only in America and Japan.
To be unveiled at the Los Angeles motor show next month, the car is expected
to closely follow the design of the FCX concept car. Inside, it will provide
space for four in a futuristic looking cabin. Instead of a fuel gauge there
will be a range meter that tells you how far you can travel with the
hydrogen left in the tank.
It is also expected to feature lithium-ion batteries to recover energy during
braking. The transmission will be gearless so you will simply select neutral
or drive.
The announcement by Takeo Fukui, president and chief executive of Honda Motor
Company, is a landmark in new car technology. The fuel cell has long been
the holy grail of eco-motoring because it produces a smooth, almost silent
ride and zero emissions. Honda has been working on various forms of the FCX
for more than five years. However, last week’s announcement took the
motoring world by surprise: previous estimates for a viable fuel cell car
ranged from 10 years to 20 years in the future, while the modest price tag
means the Honda will cost less than many current prestige family saloons.
As well as technical difficulties, there are practical hurdles, too. Hydrogen
takes up more space than the amount of petrol required to travel a similar
distance, meaning that fuel tanks for hydrogen have been bulky, while the
lack of infrastructure means there are few places where drivers will be able
to fill up with hydrogen fuel.
“When the car was invented, countries weren’t full of petrol stations,” said
Fukui in response to questions about the lack of infrastructure. “When the
demand is there it [the hydrogen economy] will happen.” Other car companies
are also vying to harness to the power of hydrogen. BMW last year built 100
hydrogen-powered 7-series cars (although they were not for sale and use a
combustion engine rather than a fuel cell) and Mazda revealed its Premacy RE
hydrogen hybrid at the Tokyo show.
The Premacy features a rotary engine that can run on hydrogen or petrol and
will become part of a commercial leasing scheme next year. It has a range of
about 120 miles on hydrogen and will be used as part of the HyNor project, a
scheme to introduce a 110-mile “hydrogen highway” in Norway between Oslo and
Stavanger.
Not all car makers at the Tokyo show see hydrogen as the future. Away from the
spotlights and flashguns, Toyota – the world’s largest car company and maker
of the hybrid Prius – was quietly testing the car it sees as the future of
green motoring at its track at the foot of Mount Fuji.
Powered by a battery pack twice the size of that of the existing Prius, the
new vehicle will be able to run much greater distances on electricity alone
than the existing model.
It plugs into the mains overnight, and, says Toyota, has lower running costs
and emissions than the Prius. Toyota hopes the newCO2 technology will be the
solution to a problem that the company privately acknowledges: the Prius is
not as fuel-efficient as many conventional cars.
The prototype on test last week was fitted with nickel-hydride batteries, but
when the new model goes on sale – possibly in 2009 – it may be equipped with
more compact and lighter lithium-ion batteries.
Toyota claims a twofold advantage for these vehicles. First, more energy can
be stored, giving increased range. Second, mileage costs are reduced because
electrical recharging is far cheaper than refuelling with petrol or diesel.
The new Prius has been designed with an eye on the American market, where
some Prius owners have been paying several thousand dollars to convert their
car to make it mains-rechargeable.
A recent American study showed that applying the cost of US electricity at the
typical rate of 9 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), 30 miles of electric
driving costs 81 cents.
Toyota also says that compared with the current Prius, the new model achieves
a 13% reduction in CO2 emissions on a 15-mile journey. But the plug-in
hybrid could add little environmental benefit unless the mains electricity
comes from a source that does , such as solar or not emit CO2 nuclear power.
“Otherwise there is the issue of just shifting the pollution from cars to
power stations,” said Scott Brownlee, of Toyota UK.
UK buyers without a garage or driveway would also need to overcome the legal
obstacle of a cable trailing across a pavement between home and car.
Notwithstanding these drawbacks, Toyota believes plug-in hybrid technology is
the way forward. In Tokyo it unveiled the 1/X concept car, a hybrid plug-in
family car that it says points towards the longer-term future of car design.
Not surprisingly Honda, flushed with the success of its fuel cell project,
said further development of hybrids was no more than an expensive sideshow.
“Carrying a [mains rechargeable] battery [as well as an engine] is dead
weight,” said Fukui, adding that Toyota’s enthusiasm for plug-ins was
fuelled by the desire to be able to use more mains electricity produced by
US-sourced coal rather than imported oil.
“It is highly political,” said Fukui, “but, technically speaking it’s
nonsense.”
Stars of the show
VW Space UP! The Space UP! is a minivan version of the UP! people’s car
unveiled in Frankfurt. It has rear-hinged “suicide” doors and space for four
adults, while a split tailgate such as the new Mini Clubman’s improves rear
access. The final UP! concept, rumoured to be a fuel-efficient SUV, should
be at the Los Angeles motor show at the end of November.
Volvo ReCharge First seen at the Frankfurt show last month this plug-in
hybrid is fitted with a 1.6 litre engine and four individual electric motors
– one in each wheel. The ReCharge can run on battery power alone for up to
62 miles and Volvo says the lithium-polymer batteries can be recharged fully
in just three hours, with a one-hour charge providing enough power for a
30-mile journey.
Honda Puyo The maker says that due to this concept’s lack of sharp
edges and it being covered in soft silicone it can absorb light collisions.
As if that isn’t radical enough, it replaces the steering wheel with a
joystick and glows in different colours, depending on whether it is running
or standing still. Under the bonnet is a fuel cell that creates electricity
from hydrogen and oxygen, emitting only water as its “exhaust”. But unlike
the FCX, it’s only a showcase.
Nissan Pivo2 Carlos Ghosn, head of Renault and Nissan, claims the
Pivo2’s lithium-ion batteries are “compact, high powered and safe” – a
reference to safety fears that such batteries tend to overheat. The wacky
Pivo2 has a drive-by-wire system that enables the cabin to spin around and
wheels that angle at 90 degrees, meaning the car can park sideways. Daft.
Mitsubishi i MiEV Sport Mitsubishi aims to sell electric vehicles in
Britain by 2009. Its latest concept uses three electric motors producing
117hp together. There’s a motor in each front wheel and one driving the rear
wheels. A plug-in lithium-ion battery pack is fitted beneath the floor and
allows a 124-mile range between charges.
