Named after the chemical symbol for hydrogen, the H2USA partnership brings together government agencies, gas suppliers, the hydrogen and fuel cell industries and automakers including Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Toyota.

While American automakers and private industry have made significant progress, H2USA will bring experts together to solve key infrastructure challenges, including leveraging low-cost natural gas resources.

Through the program, industry and government partners will identify actions to encourage early adopters of fuel cell electric vehicles, conduct coordinated technical and market analysis, and evaluate alternative fueling infrastructure that can enable cost reductions and economies of scale.

“Fuel cell technologies are an important part of an all-of-the-above approach to diversify America’s transportation sector, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and increase our competitiveness in the global market,” said assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, David Danielson in the Energy Department’s press release. “By bringing together key stakeholders from across the U.S. fuel cell and hydrogen industry, the H2USA partnership will help advance affordable fuel cell electric vehicles that save consumers money and give drivers more options.”

Hyundai is currently making a fuel-cell-powered version of the Tucson with the goal of selling 1,000 units by 2015, when it will launch the next-generation Tucson and target annual output of about 10,000 units.

“Hyundai’s Tucson Fuel Cell program is an integral part of our plan to develop low-carbon, fuel-efficient vehicles that minimize fuel consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” said Gil Castillo, senior group manager, alternative vehicle strategy, Hyundai Motor America. “Our partnership with the Energy Department and H2USA is another way Hyundai is striving to meet the critical social needs for both mobility and environmental preservation.”

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Yesterday Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn told Automotive News that plug-in hybrids and natural gas engines have a much better chance to succeed over the next decade than fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), and this is where the company will spend more of its efforts.

“I do not see the infrastructure for fuel cell vehicles, and I do not see how hydrogen can be produced on large scale at reasonable cost,” Automotive News reported Winterkorn said through a translator at VW headquarters. “I do not currently see a situation where we can offer fuel cell vehicles at a reasonable cost that consumers would also be willing to pay.”

The company says it will keep fuel cell irons in the fire, as it were, and continue studying the dilemma it sees with fuel cells, but its bearish tone rings in marked contrast to publicized efforts by Daimler, Toyota, Hyundai, Honda, and others.

If inclined to see things Winterkorn’s way, observers might say he has adopted the stance of the boy who commented on the “emperor’s new clothes,” in the classic fable where the king was actually unclothed, but no one would say it.

Reportedly speaking with a major rival in mind, Daimler, Winterkorn generally said that the way competing automakers have boasted of their fuel cell efforts, one could have anticipated their entire fleet would be fuel-cell by 2012.

Mercedes-Benz has made a number of efforts to drum up interest for its F-Cell. And it’s been at it for a while as it says the game is still on.

In 1994, Daimler AG introduced its NECAR – short for “new electric car” – and has recently struck an agreement with Ford and Renault-Nissan to launch jointly designed FCEVs in 2017.

Another year to watch on the FCEV front is 2015. This is when Toyota has said it will launch its FCV-R fuel cell car, and this same year Hyundai has said it will sell thousands of ix35 SUVs in all 50 United States.

Honda has plugged away as a lone pioneer, and has leased an estimated 40 of its FCX Clarity since 2008.

VW has started to increase development and announcements of plug-in hybrids, including the pending limited-production XL1 diesel plug-in hybrid (photo) said to achieve 261 mpg.

More trickle-down and shared technology is expected to follow into VW Group’s more everyday lines of vehicles.

The occasion for Winterkorn’s scorn for FCEVs, and plug for plug-ins followed the Geneva auto show this month. There, Volkswagen AG announced its strategy to eventually sell a plug-in hybrid version in every vehicle segment of all its various brands.

Automotive News

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According to a WardsAuto interview with John Krafcik, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, the FCEVs based on the Tuscon model offer merits that pure battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and range-extended EVs like the Chevy Volt just cannot match for meeting tightening emissions regulations.

“I like the idea of a plug-in better than a pure EV, but there’s just so much redundancy (in extended range),” Krafcik told WardAuto with reference to the Volt.

And for urban dwellers lacking a dedicated parking spot, battery electric vehicles are also a problem, he said of just some of the problems Hyundai foresees.

As such, Hyundai will undertake mass production and retail sales of its FCEV in all 50 U.S. states a couple years before 2017-2025 Corporate Average Fuel Economy Mandates kick in.

Unclear is whether the roll out will be staged as they have been for various plug-in cars following coastal regions and areas where a higher saturation rate of hybrids was historically the case.

Hyundai is not dissuaded by the present lack of hydrogen refilling of infrastructure, said Krafcik to WardsAuto. The $1 million cost to install a “station” – it is not clear the actual definition of “station” in this case – is on par with the costs of meeting environmental laws calling for replacement of underground gas tanks to prevent groundwater and soil contamination.

Looking down the road, Krafcik further said he believes EVs and their ilk are problematic as electric rates will rise with the number of electrified vehicles. This, he said, could negate their presently strong cost-benefit fueling advantage – and plug-in cars could eventually overload local grids by drawing more off-peak electricity than the grids will be able to supply.

In contrast Hyundai’s ix35 can be refueled like a petrol vehicle in minutes. Performance from its 134-horsepower (100-kw) FCEV will let it accelerate to 62 mph (100 kph) in a modest 12.5 seconds, with a top speed of 99.4 mph (160 kph).

The FCEV uses a modular stack to convert hydrogen to electricity which powers the car’s motor. Configured as it is now, range is estimated at 370 miles.

To date, the only production fuel-cell vehicle has been Honda’s FCX Clarity which was introduced n 2008 as a 36-month lease offer for $600 per month. To date, it’s estimated 40 of these have been leased, and Honda has blamed lack of hydrogen infrastructure for the low market receptiveness.

Hyundai’s plans call for thousands of ix35s in America, and as we know, it the company is bullish that the purportedly chicken-and-egg infrastructure issue will be solved.

WardsAuto

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This is according to UKH2Mobility project, a joint British government-industry study published earlier this week.

The forecast is made in an interim report commissioned to evaluate the benefits of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and ensure the UK is well positioned for their commercial rollout.

The UKH2Mobility project brings together leading businesses from the automotive, energy, infrastructure and retail sectors with Government. The project’s study provides a “roadmap” for the introduction of vehicles and hydrogen refueling infrastructure in the UK.

“The transition to ultra-low emission vehicles has already begun,” said Business Minister Michael Fallon. “It has the potential to create really significant new economic opportunities for the UK, to diversify national energy supply and to decarbonizes road transport. The findings released today demonstrate that hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles can make a significant contribution to this. Successful commercialization of the technology will require Government to work in true partnership with industry. Our international rivals are looking to steal a march in this area and so UKH2Mobility recognizes the importance of prompt action to ensure the potential benefits are realized by businesses and consumers in the UK.”

As published in a UKH2Mobility project press release, the key findings are:

• Consumer – up to 10 percent of new car customers will be receptive to fuel cell vehicles when first introduced, attracted by the newness of the technology and environmental considerations. “Early adopter” interest will need to be fostered and converted into sales to build confidence in and support for FCEVs, as the first models become available in world markets within the next three years.
• Vehicles – initial uptake of FCEVs will progress as models make their way on to the market and the fuelling network matures. The roadmap shows that once mass FCEV production is established, bringing costs down, there is the potential for 1.6 million vehicles on UK roads by 2030, with annual sales of more than 300,000.
• Infrastructure – a coordinated network of hydrogen refueling stations will need to be established, focusing at first on national trunk routes and heavily populated areas. An initial rollout of 65 stations would provide sufficient coverage in line with early vehicle sales, with the network growing in line with the number of FCEVs on the road to provide 1,150 sites by 2030.
• Environment – the roadmap shows that, based on the uptake figures above, FCEVs could reduce UK annual total vehicle CO2 emissions by three million tones in 2030. Replacing diesel vehicles with FCEVs could also save between £100 million and £200 million a year in the cost of damage to air quality caused by vehicle emissions by 2050.
• Fuel production – FCEVs produce no harmful tailpipe emissions, but some forms of hydrogen production do generate CO2. Using a range of manufacturing methods can deliver hydrogen at a cost that is competitive with diesel, with 60 percent lower CO2 emissions in 2020, improving to 75 percent less in 2030. Hydrogen production will be on course for zero emissions by 2050, at which time FCEVs could have a market share of between 30 to 50 percent.
• Investment – a basic initial network of Hydrogen Refueling Stations is required to encourage early adoption of FCEVs and there will inevitably be a lag between the creation of this network and there being sufficient FCEVs on the road to make it financially self-sustaining. Phase 1 of the project estimated the total finance needed to be around £400m to 2030. Phase 2 will be focused on both reducing this figure and considering different models for delivering it.

The final report of Phase 1 is due to be published this March.

UKH2Mobility project said Phase 2 of UKH2Mobility will then use the information and roadmap produced in Phase 1 to develop a detailed business case and specific actions for participants to commit to.

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The goal is nothing less than the launch of the “world’s first affordable, mass-market” fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) by 2017. By teaming up, the three companies will split costs equally, and share lessons and efficiencies learned.

Each company will aim to bring its own uniquely branded FCEVs to market based on common technology. Included in this will be the all-important, and up till now cost-prohibitive fuel cell stack and fuel system.

All three – Daimler, Ford and Nissan – already have significant inroads into developing FCEVs, and state collectively they’ve logged over 10 million kilometers in testing of research vehicles.

The companies state that this latest move “sends a clear signal to suppliers, policymakers and the industry to encourage further development of hydrogen refueling stations and other infrastructure necessary to allow the vehicles to be mass-marketed.”

The FCEVs are touted as being complementary to other electrified vehicles, and are not at this point being seen as a next evolutionary step to supplant and render obsolete yet-new battery electric technologies also being developed.

“Fuel cell electric vehicles are the obvious next step to complement today’s battery electric vehicles as our industry embraces more sustainable transportation,” said Mitsuhiko Yamashita, Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Vice President of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., supervising Research and Development. “We look forward to a future where we can answer many customer needs by adding FCEVs on top of battery EVs within the zero-emission lineup.”

FCEVs are touted as environmentally friendly, but are not without controversy. One can readily find viewpoints in the main stating FCEVs require more energy to create fuel for than the fuel itself actually provides. This contention, if true, seems not to be something the major automakers are heeding as they team up to bring FCEVs to market.

Instead, FCEV’s benefits of being able to refuel much faster than a present-day EV and emitting only water, and thus no greenhouse gases, are among those regularly promoted.

“We are convinced that fuel cell vehicles will play a central role for zero-emission mobility in the future. Thanks to the high commitment of all three partners we can put fuel cell e-mobility on a broader basis. This means with this cooperation we will make this technology available for many customers around the globe,” said Prof. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development.

The zero-emissions goals are not entirely altruistic either, but are actually mandated by the American and European governments. As such, automakers have been pooling resources to tackle dauntingly expensive projects such as this, the announcement of a viable fuel cell vehicle inside of five years. 2017 is the beginning point of the ramp up to stricter standards through to 2025 for the U.S. CAFE mandates, and Europe also is bearing down on emissions.

The FCEV development work, say the companies, will be conducted in respective locations around the world.

Although these companies are primarily competitors, putting aside what might otherwise be considered intellectual property secrets and creating an effective brain trust is another aspect of the expedient aside from mere cost sharing.

Perhaps it demonstrates companies are getting smarter, or at least it shows the pressures being exerted by mandates to technologically overcome worldwide problems arising from waning petroleum supplies and global warming.

“Working together will significantly help speed this technology to market at a more affordable cost to our customers,” said Raj Nair, group vice president, Global Product Development, Ford Motor Company. “We will all benefit from this relationship as the resulting solution will be better than any one company working alone.”

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