Tag Archives: Hydrogen Car

This hydrogen-powered pickup truck embodies the perfect balance of aesthetics + performance + utility

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Climate change and global warming are decimating the planet, and the burning of fossil fuels for the automotive industry is the major contributor. According to the EPA, since 1970, CO2 emissions have increased by about 90%, with emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes contributing about 78% of the total greenhouse gas emissions increase from 1970 to 2011. The metamorphosis to clean energy-powered vehicles is underway as electric, and hybrid vehicles vow to control the damage done. Hydrogen-powered vehicles are the latest alternative automotive manufacturers are exploring with Toyota Mirao, Hyundai Nexo, and Honda Clarity are good examples of commercially available zero-emission hydrogen cars. While hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are still not mainstream, that scenario will change in the next decade.

Envisioning a future where hydrogen-powered clean vehicles will make up a significant chunk of the portfolio of clean energy-powered automobiles, designer Jacob Amrhein presents his concept of a pickup truck for 2030. The idea here is to create a powerful 4×4 all-terrain vehicle built for the upcoming truck lovers. The pickup truck will be called Solidarity – developed by GM, Stellantis, and Ford – who are already investing quite a lot in low environmental impact vehicles for the planet, focusing on saving the earth before damaging the environment beyond a point of repair. Choosing hydrogen as the reliable fuel of the future for the automotive industry is recommended since it has a better range than electric vehicles or renewable energy use. According to estimates by industry body Hydrogen Council, hydrogen technologies will supply 18 percent of the world’s total energy needs in the future and will be able to power around 425 million vehicles around the world by 2050. The European Commission’s Energy Roadmap for 2050 has proposed that renewables will produce 85 percent of energy; 65 percent of it will come from solar and wind. 

The pickup’s bold design attracts attention with easily accessible dual hydrogen tanks perfectly integrated on the side and on top to suffice the needs on a long trip. Solidarity truck’s utility lies in its modular bed, which can be swapped out for accessories depending on the user’s needs. Also, the slide tie-down points along the bed structure ensure safely hauling the cargo. The tailgate slides under the bed for easy loading or unloading of cargo by facilitating easier reach-in access. It already sounds like a compelling proposition, isn’t it so?

Designer: Jacob Amrhein

This hydrogen fuel based pod is the vehicle of choice for a green future!

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We all once believed flying cars would be the future for the auto industry. Then cars started driving themselves, so that future was left up to the designers to decide. But never has the future weighed so heavily above us than it has in 2020. Globally, designers are utilizing this moment to construct what they believe the future of the auto industry will and, in some cases, should look like, including Moscow-based, Nikita Konopatov who recently conceptualized a hydrogen-fueled car for the future, called Future Center Europe. The fuel-cell vehicle design would move on two cylindrical barrels with a bubbled body, an image representative of molecular hydrogen combustion. The decision to construct a new automobile fueled by hydrogen is both feasible and deliberate. With the frequency of road transportation decreasing, and therefore air pollution, as a result of travel restrictions due to the pandemic, many of us have consciously shifted toward greener alternatives. Fuel cell vehicles indicate one green alternative since the electric vehicles use generators to turn hydrogen into electricity, providing energy.

Hydrogen fuel is produced once hydrogen reacts with oxygen to make water. Since hydrogen is an energy carrier, which means it transmits energy from a primary source, such as solar energy or coal, it can be used as fuel for cars. Extracting hydrogen from compounds can be tricky, but it is possible through electrolysis, which is the most popular, ecological, and efficient option. Konopatov describes his design as “atypical,” but it is also so utopian, it discredits any possibility of a future doomsday. With columnar wheels and panoramic windows, this design could inspire sci-fi anime or become one. Who wouldn’t take a drive? On paper, this design points out our seemingly new reality and how we interact with it. Globally, we’re embracing simplicity, sprucing up our own corner of the world, and modifying our lens for alternative living in order to meet it halfway. Similarly, Nikita Konopatov’s fuel cell vehicle nods towards a simpler, albeit faraway future world, where cars might not fly, but breathe like us.

Designer: Nikita Konopatov

Hyperion’s futuristic hydrogen-powered supercar can hit speeds as high as 220 mph

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Hyperion’s supercar looks like an absolute beast of an automobile, but if the driver seated inside it had their way, you probably would never really get to see the car properly. Powered by hydrogen fuel cells, the Hyperion XP-1 can hit breakneck speeds of 220mph (354kmh), so all you’d really see is a blur as it passes you by.

The car was supposed to debut at the now-canceled New York Auto Show, but Hyperion did deliver on its promise of a reveal by releasing the video above, and images of what the car will look like. The car was designed by Hyperion’s team of aerospace engineers, a fact that’s pretty believable considering how the car looks like it could break the sound barrier. The tip of the XP-1 even has a jet-inspired pointed nose to cut across the air as the rest of the automobile’s aerodynamic surfacing helps guide it forward with as little drag as possible. The car’s outer body, made from titanium-reinforced carbon-fiber, encloses its “Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Power Module”. This “space-age” hydrogen propulsion system stores energy in cells as opposed to a lithium-ion battery, and delivers power to four motors connected to each of the four wheels. It all sounds futuristic because it most certainly is, and I’m not surprised that the XP-1’s ignition sounds like Iron Man’s repulsors too.

The Hyperion XP-1 boasts of a stellar 1000 mile range, delivered in part because of the efficient hydrogen propulsion system, but also because the car comes mounted with solar panels on its air blades. The air blades, sitting on each side of the car, act as aerodynamic structures to help cornering at high-speeds, and come mounted with solar panels that can apparently change position to track the sun as you drive. Speaking of driving, the XP1 boasts of an acceleration of 0-60mph in just 2.2 seconds, and a top speed of over 220mph. Moreover, Hyperion even claims that the supercar can fully recharge in under 5 minutes. The company’s been beating all odds to continue development and production through the pandemic, and they’re estimating having 300 units of a production version ready by as soon as 2022.

Designer: Hyperion

Pininfarina’s all-speed, no-emissions hypercar!

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It may look like a toy, but the H2 Speed (shown above beside the Sigma Grand Prix concept) by Pininfarina and GreenGT isn’t a plaything. 2016’s best concept of the year at the Geneva Motor Show finally made it to reality at this year’s show amongst a few dropped jaws… given how simply perfect it looks. Its aesthetic, dominated by big, broad, smooth details gives it the playful demeanor of a die-cast toy car, making it look like the embodiment of speed, but not necessarily too aggressive.

Embodying Pininfarina’s DNA of purity, the H2 Speed is styled by aerodynamics, resulting in a car that feels pure, evoking a sense of speed as well as minimalism. However, the car’s most noteworthy detail is its zero-emissions engine that doesn’t run on electricity… but rather on hydrogen! Partnering with French/Swiss GreenGT, Pininfarina’s H2 showcases “Full Hydrogen Technology” that allows the car to reach 300 km/h by releasing just water vapor into the atmosphere. With a maximum horsepower of 653, this engine accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds. Another added advantage over traditional electric cars (I can’t believe I used traditional and electric car in the same sentence), is its incredibly fast refueling time. While electric cars can take a decent while to reach a full charge, filling the tank of a hydrogen car takes close to 3 minutes. It also means the car will sound different, as compared to all-electric drives.

Only 12 units of the H2 Speed will be produced, and while that isn’t enough water-vapour to make massive changes to the environment, GreenGT’s technology is sure to be carried forward and used in more cars to come. The H2 was showcased at the Geneva Motor Show in 2018 and is set for a 2019 release!

Designer: Pininfarina & GreenGT

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Toyota Shows New Hydrogen Car In Vegas; Probably Uses Less Energy Than A Slot Machine

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We’ve long scratched our heads over why the auto business finds itself necessary to encroach ever deeper into the purple haze of high-tech product unveilings held every January at the Consumer...
    






Hydrogen-Powered Car from Toyota to Arrive by 2015

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Many years were spent in its making. Now the plan has almost reached its final stages. By the beginning of next year, the hydrogen-powered car will start rolling off the conveyor belts of Toyota....