British company Jaguar Land Rover, known as JLR, is developing a hydrogen fuel cell car based on the chassis of the new Defender SUV, and plans to start testing the prototype next year .
The prototype programmer, called Project Zeus, is part of the company’s larger goal of producing zero-carbon cars by 2036. Read also By the hour or the day.. Volkswagen expects to pay a subscription to use your car instead of buying it in the future It probably won’t work… Bill Gates raises controversy again with statements about electric trucks شاحنات After questioning its ability, Musk: Gates has no idea about electric trucks Charge your electric cars to 90% in 6 minutes
GLR also hopes to reach net-zero carbon emissions across its supply chain, products and processes by 2039. Both goals are part of a “re imagining” strategy announced last February when the company revealed it would build all-electric cars starting in 2025. .
The company has launched Project Zeus with partial funding from the UK government-backed Advanced Propulsion Centre, and the initiative will give GLR engineers the information they need to be able to improve their hydrogen generation set. The hope is to develop hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that can deliver the same performance and capability – when it comes to range, off-road capability and even towing – as their conventional counterparts.
“We know that hydrogen plays a role in the future powertrain mix across the entire transportation industry, and along with battery electric vehicles, it provides another solution to exhaust emissions,” Ralf Klegg, head of electronic fuel cell vehicles, Jaguar Land Rover, said in a statement.
Jaguar Land Rover has not revealed a timetable for the public release of the fuel-cell Defender, and will begin a series of tests during 2021 to verify key features, including off-road capability and fuel consumption.
Electronic fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity without combustion. Hydrogen-generated electricity is used to power an electric motor.
Some automakers, researchers, and policymakers have advocated the technology because hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) can be refueled quickly, have high energy density and do not lose much range in cold temperatures. It is also among the group of electric vehicles that can travel longer distances.
Electronic fuel cells can power a vehicle by combining hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, with only water emitted as emissions. Jaguar explains that fuel cells enable rapid refueling and have a high energy density, making them ideal for larger, longer-range vehicles. In addition, fuel cell vehicles perform well in cold environments, as they operate with minimal energy loss at low temperatures.
Few electronic fuel cell electric vehicles are on the market today, but at a low level due to the lack of refueling stations. Toyota Mirai is one example.
Data from the International Energy Agency and recent commitments to automakers suggest this could change. Last month, BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse reported that there are plans to produce a small number of electronic fuel cell SUVs, the X5, next year.
The number of electronic fuel cell vehicles in the world nearly doubled to 25,210 units in 2019 compared to the previous year, according to the latest data from the International Energy Agency. The United States led the way in sales, despite a decline in 2019, followed by China, Japan and Korea.
Japan has pioneered infrastructure projects aiming to have 200,000 electronic fuel cell vehicles on the road by 2025. The country has installed 113 charging stations as of 2019, nearly double the United States.