First ‘mass production’ hydrogen cars arrive on UK roads
Wed 04 November 2015
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The world's biggest car maker, Toyota, and South Korea's Hyundai have launched the first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to be available in Britain. Hyundai's ix35 FCEV and Toyota's Mirai will cost around £53,000 and £66,000 respectively. Honda has also announced it is set to launch its model the Clarity Fuel Cell Vehicle in the UK in 2017.
Proponents of the cars cite their range and quick refuelling as two reasons they could win the race for the future of vehicle technology. Hyundai’s hydrogen car runs for a distance of more than 360 miles compared to an average 100 miles for a battery-electric car.
The Guardian reports that those buying or leasing the hydrogen cars to tackle that pollution are companies involved in the infrastructure to power them and businesses such as taxi firms looking to advertise their green credentials, rather than individuals. Organisations such as Transport for London, which powers one of its routes with eight hydrogen buses, have also bought them.
The Toyota Mirai is the first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to be eligible for the Government's plug-in car grant. Toyota has set itself the target of delivering more than 30,000 FCEVs within five years. “Fuel cells are part of our corporate vision,” Neil Spires of Toyota said. “We buy into the idea of a hydrogen society because it’s such a good way of storing energy.”
However, The Telegraph reports that the vehicles remain costly to purchase, despite EU subsidies, and the expensive task of developing the infrastructure to support hydrogen, from creating enough of the gas, transporting it and building a network of filling stations is challenging and has the potential to increase the carbon impact through the energy intensive production. There are currently just four hydrogen stations in the UK.
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