Electric cars are becoming more prevalent on the road, and they appear to be gradually but steadily displacing vehicles with internal combustion engines. In the medium future, however, the fact that e-mobility will be the main mode of transportation is probably only half the reality. While the number of electric vehicles on the road continues to grow, the automobile industry is working on alternative sustainable energy sources in the background.
Volkswagen’s example demonstrates that hydrogen technology will play a significant part in future private transportation. The interesting thing is that Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess has already declared that he does not believe fuel cell technology is sustainable. A tweet sent to important lawmakers last year, in particular, made one sit up and take notice: “The hydrogen automobile has been shown to be ineffective as a climate solution. In the transportation sector, electrification has triumphed. Debates that aren’t true are a waste of time. Please pay attention to science!” Herbert Diess.
In actuality, the VW boardroom appears to be aware of the situation: according to BusinessInsider, the corporation has filed a patent application for a particular fuel cell with the Saxon business Kraftwerk Tubes GmbH. Volkswagen, without a doubt, is leaving this option open and pursuing hydrogen technology in defiance of the public “fog candles.”
Volkswagen isn’t the only vehicle firm to experiment with hydrogen as a fuel: Mercedes, BMW, and Asian automakers Toyota and Hyundai have all done so and created models that are ready for mass production. However, these automobiles have been far more expensive to purchase in the past. There is a significant difference in the technology presently being used by VW.
“The fundamental difference between our fuel cells and those from Hyundai and Toyota is that we use a ceramic membrane instead of the standard plastic membrane,” says power plant head Sascha Kühn. We are the only company that makes this technology’s ceramic membrane in such a way that the fuel cell can start up rapidly.” This, according to the managing director, is a significant difference. The benefits of this fuel cell over the “polymer” fuel cell are, on the one hand, cheaper production costs and the absence of platinum.
“It always works like this: we supply the fundamental technology, then develop it further along with the manufacturer’s experts and design the vehicle,” says founder Kühn of the cooperation with the automobile giant.
The intriguing issue is why do Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess and his Tesla colleague Elon Musk publicly disparage hydrogen technology? Volkswagen may wish to employ a “clean” electric strategy in order to distract people from the unpleasant diesel problem. Furthermore, the portal believes that a consistent e-strategy based on the model of the expanding mega-empire Tesla will be favorably appreciated by investors.
Competitors who perceive this technology to be a breakthrough and are pushing it ahead, on the other hand, would be publicly chastised, according to the argument. That, however, should have been the end of it, given the recent agreement. It has long been obvious that hydrogen might play a crucial role in providing energy for future mobility in the transportation industry. It’s also worth noting that hydrogen propulsion is an example of electromobility.
The so-called solid cell battery – a topic on which Mercedes has also been working hard for some time – is the target for this type of mobility breakthrough. “It would be nearly identical to our answer in terms of technology (…) Solid-state batteries rely solely on solid materials for energy storage, but our fuel cell relies on gas “explains Kühn, who forecasts that with the new technology, refueling periods will be cut in half.
The revolutionary, particularly constructed fuel cell is expected to break new ground in terms of range: “We can drive up to 2000 kilometers with one tankful,” the power plant’s CEO claims.
BMW, on the other hand, believes that the combustion engine’s demise is premature.
