Brian Joss –
Two hydrogen pioneers have taken real-world zero-emission motoring to a new level by driving a Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell 2 383 km in 24 hours. Arnt-Gøran Hartvig, a sports scientist, and Marius Bornstein, a Master of Physics, travelled around the clock on public roads in Germany, emitting nothing but water vapour from the ground-breaking fuel cell electric vehicle.
To achieve this impressive distance, the two Norwegians covered the route of more than 300 km between Vatenfall’s hydrogen station in HafenCity, Hamburg, and a Shell hydrogen station in Sachsendamm, Berlin, as many times as possible in 24 hours. Refuelling the car takes as little as three minutes, enabling the drivers to maximise the distance covered.
Hartvig and Bornstein’s success was captured on GoPro cameras, and can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYUbIdHr7aE. Their route included city driving as well as high-speed roads, demonstrating the suitability of the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell for everyday use. “We wanted to see what the combination of a state-of-art fuel cell electric vehicle and hydrogen refueling station are capable of today. The result is stunning,” said the team after their journey.
This accomplishment by the two eco-pioneers is the latest in a series of epic challenges to demonstrate the potential of fuel cell technology. In June last year the duo chose the ix35 Fuel Cell to travel a record 700 km on one tank of hydrogen. They have also driven from Oslo to Monaco, refuelling only at the hydrogen stations already installed along the 2 260 km route.
“This endurance drive highlights both the practicality of our fuel cell electric vehicle’s long driving range and the environmental credentials of our technology. Our fuel cell programme has already delivered many world firsts, so it is fitting that the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell has once again delivered a new benchmark,” said Thomas A. Schmid, chief operating officer at Hyundai Motor Europe.
Hyundai Motor is the world’s first automotive manufacturer to mass-produce fuel cell vehicles and make them commercially available. The ix35 Fuel Cell is the most affordable fuel cell vehicle in Europe and is already on sale and on the roads in 11 European countries.
- The ix35 Fuel Cell is fitted with a 100 kW electric motor, allowing it to reach a maximum speed of 160 km/h. It produces no harmful emissions – only water vapour comes from the tailpipe – and has an official driving range of almost 600 km on one tank of hydrogen. Visit: www.fuelcell.eu to find out more about Hyundai’s fuel cell technology.
