Fuel Cell
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Olive drab isn't the only green thing in the U.S. Army. Currently undergoing testing at Fort Carson in Colorado, the Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle illustrates the unlikely intersection between eco-friendly powertrains and the demanding needs of a vehicle that may be deployed to a war zone. The Colorado ZH2 is a collaboration between General Motors and the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), but its roots are a little more humble. DON'T MISS: Honda, GM To Build Factory For Fuel-Cell Production By 2025 Underneath its show-truck...
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Hyundai targets 1,400 units a year of next-gen fuel-cell vehicle: report
It's public knowledge that Hyundai plans to replace its aging Tucson Fuel Cell utility vehicle with an all-new hydrogen-powered vehicle, and that it has big plans for the future. The Korean automaker showcased the FE Fuel Cell concept in March to provide a glimpse of what to expect when the...
Sean Szymkowski -
How California and China plan to push for millions of zero-emission vehicles
California has long been the nation's leader in zero-emission vehicles, with initiatives dating more than two decades. Now the Golden State is partnering with China, the world's largest car market, to accelerate that country's zero-emission goals. The state announced a new initiative with China, in...
Sean Szymkowski -
Honda Clarity Electric, Plug-In Hybrid: first drives, impressions
In March, we spent most of a day with the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, the first of three variants of the Clarity mid-size sedan to go on sale in the U.S. Leases of the hydrogen-powered Clarity will be limited for the foreseeable future to residents of those areas of California near to hydrogen fueling...
John Voelcker -
Toyota, Honda, Nissan, other Japan firms to fund hydrogen fueling
Earlier this year in Europe, 13 companies joined forces to create the Hydrogen Council, a global initiative to discuss and promote the use of hydrogen as a renewable source of energy. In the United States, GM and Honda have partnered up to build a production plant in Michigan that will roll out...
John Voelcker -
GM fuel-cell chief talks about military truck, Honda deal to build hydrogen powertrains
Innovation has no secret for GM and after tapping into hybrid and electric engine technologies, fuel-cell is its next target. In an interview with Trucks.com, GM’s global fuel-cell business director Charles Freese seemed confident that hydrogen will become a next big step in transportation...
Green Car Reports -
The 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is the only model of Honda's newest sedan presently on sale, though an all-electric version will arrive later this year. The hydrogen-powered mid-size sedan with a rated 366 miles of range is the one that's gotten by far the most publicity from Honda, as its technology halo vehicle. Last month, at the New York auto show, Honda unveiled the second and third models: the all-electric and plug-in hybrid versions that round out the three-car lineup. DON'T MISS: Honda Clarity Electric, Plug-In Hybrid revealed at NY auto show That leads to a handful of questions...
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Mercedes denies CEO said it will turn away from hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (updated)
Large global automakers customarily pursue research into multiple types of technologies and future powertrains at the same time. Sometimes they pan out, sometimes they don't. German automakers have only really come around to devoting their efforts to plug-in electric cars in the last five or six...
John Voelcker -
Energy use for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles: higher than electrics, even hybrids (analysis)
It's now clear that the zero-emission vehicles of the future will be powered by electric motors. The electricity to power those motors, however, will come from one of two competing technologies: high-capacity batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. The debate over which technology is superior, which has...
John Voelcker -
UPS electric van with fuel-cell range extender to be tested in California
Considerable skepticism remains that passenger vehicles powered by hydrogen will become a major part of U.S. sales any time soon—or ever. Quietly, however, analysts suggest that hydrogen may provide a solution to the different challenges of producing zero-emission heavy trucks and delivery...
John Voelcker -
Is Toyota's hydrogen fuel-cell fervor foolish, or foresighted? (with charts)
Toyota's staunch, unswerving support for hydrogen fuel cells has astonished and aggravated many in the electric vehicle community. For some of them, the technology is at best an inferior solution—and at worst is fossil fuel-friendly vaporware, a Judas in Jesus's clothing, if you will. With...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Why Toyota's 'agonizing' U-turn toward electric cars? Because China says so
Large auto companies are likely aircraft carriers: it takes a long time for them to change direction, and far longer yet to get them aligned on a new course. To various degrees, the world's carmakers have started to produce and sell vehicles that plug-in, whether for some or all of their travels...
John Voelcker -
The challenges of building fueling infrastructure for passenger cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells are well known by now. Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai now lease low volumes of fuel-cell vehicles in selected areas of California where a few dozen hydrogen fueling stations are now up and running. The challenges for fueling may be less daunting for other sorts of vehicles, however—including heavy-duty tractors that haul freight trailers all over the country. DON'T MISS: 2016 Toyota Mirai: First Drive Of Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Sedan This morning, Toyota revealed its "Project Portal" experiment in...
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Genesis GV80 fuel-cell concept SUV at NY auto show
These days, it's all but de rigeur that concept cars from major global automakers be shown with some form of alternative propulsion. They may preview future production vehicles powered by plain old conventional gasoline engines, but a plug-in hybrid or other greener powertrain shows the automaker...
John Voelcker -
All the challenges for hydrogen fuel-cell cars laid out
Twenty years ago, Toyota took the automotive industry by surprise with the Prius. The Japanese giant is attempting to revolutionize driving again, this time by bringing hydrogen-powered cars to the masses. However, it now faces a completely different set of challenges than when it set out to get...
Green Car Reports -
Tesla Model X electric car vs Toyota Mirai fuel-cell car: CA road trip
The ability to travel long distances has long been a distinguishing feature of Tesla's luxury electric cars, whose Supercharger fast-charging network now offers access to essentially every part of the 48 continental states. But where hydrogen infrastructure exists, which can cover a long road trip...
Green Car Reports -
2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell: first drive of hydrogen-powered sedan
There are now three different vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells on sale in California, and we've driven them all. The 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is the first one in which we were able to forget about the powertrain and simply drive. It's the best of the three, although that won't matter...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Mirai billboards scrub nitrogen oxides while touting hydrogen fuel-cell sedan
If green cars can reduce emissions, why shouldn't their advertising do the same? That's the theory behind a series of billboards in relevant California markets that advertise the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell sedan. But these billboards will do more than try to attract the eyes of potential...
Stephen Edelstein -
About 600,000 plug-in electric cars have been sold in the U.S. in the past 10 years. The number for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles is lower: as of the end of last month, it's below 1,600. Nonetheless, Honda, Hyundai, and Toyota today offer zero-emission vehicles powered by hydrogen in limited areas of California, and other makers are likely to launch theirs in years to come. DON'T MISS: 2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell: Hydrogen Crossover First Drive (Dec 2013) We were curious to see how our Twitter followers felt about the three entries now on the market. Those are the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell...
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Hyundai FE Fuel Cell Concept previews hydrogen-powered SUV coming in 2018
The Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell was actually the first hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle offered to U.S. drivers in recent years. The 2016 Toyota Mirai that followed it has now outsold Hyundai's hydrogen-powered SUV, but it's been known for a couple of years that the Korean maker will replace that model. At...
John Voelcker -
Honda: hybrids, plug-ins, fuel cells to be two-thirds of Europe sales by 2025
Honda's green-car strategy for the next decade or so appears to be coming into greater focus. In place of its previous mild hybrids, the Japanese automaker is planning to produce much higher volumes of its two-motor hybrid powertrain, as seen first in the Accord Hybrid mid-size sedan. It also...
Stephen Edelstein -
Fuel-cell range extender for Nissan e-NV200 electric taxis announced by Symbio
Advocates of battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell cars are often at odds over which powertrain technology is the more practical solution to reducing emissions. But French firm Symbio continues to experiment with ways to combine the two. It fits hydrogen fuel cells as range extenders for...
Stephen Edelstein -
Shell hedges bets, adds hydrogen fuel to 1st U.K. station
Anticipating a possible decrease in fossil-fuel consumption from the mass deployment of zero-emission vehicles, one of the world's largest oil companies is hedging its bets. Royal Dutch Shell is becoming increasingly involved in hydrogen fueling infrastructure, which will be needed if fuel-cell...
Stephen Edelstein -
Toyota Mirai update to fix output voltage on fuel cell electronics
Every Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car sold anywhere in the world will soon be recalled to address an issue with its onboard electronics. The problem lies with the output voltage generated by the cars' fuel-cell stacks. Under certain driving conditions, the amount of voltage generated by the...
Stephen Edelstein