The End For Electric Cars? VW Develops New Hydrogen Technology: “2,000 Km On A Single Tank Of Fuel”!

VW may have developed a major hydrogen breakthrough…cars could travel 2000 km on a single tank of fuel.

VW often rails against hydrogen cars, but the German automaker is reported to have filed a patent that could mean a major breakthrough for hydrogen powered vehicles, reports Patrick Freiwa of the German Kreiszeitung here.

Though the latest trend has been electric cars, these have also a number of technical drawbacks like range, cost, mining and weight. Moreover there is also the problem of how to dispose of millions of tons of batteries at the end of their lives.

Files patent

Despite VW having railed against hydrogen technology for cars, the automaker has “filed a patent for a special fuel cell with the Saxon company Kraftwerk Tubes GmbH,” thus making it clear that the auto giant is indeed pushing hydrogen technology. With the new technology from VW, the company looks to set itself apart from the rest of the field, which has focused on fuel cell technology.

According to the Kreiszeitung: “The main difference to the fuel cells of Hyundai and Toyota is that VW has set on a ceramic diaphragm instead of the usual plastic diaphragm and is the only manufacturer of this technology that produces the ceramic membrane in such a way that the fuel cell can be started quickly.”

The advantages are lower production costs and the elimination of platinum.

Up to 2000 km range

“The target for the breakthrough of this form of mobility is considered to be the so-called solid-state cell battery,” reports the Kreiszeitung. VW predicts shorter refueling times with the innovative technology.

“We can travel up to 2,000 kilometers on a single tank of fuel,” says the VW engineer Sascha Kuhn.

If true, electric cars will be left in the dust.




26 responses to “The End For Electric Cars? VW Develops New Hydrogen Technology: “2,000 Km On A Single Tank Of Fuel”!”

  1. The End for Electric Cars? VW Develops New Hydrogen Technology: “2,000 Km on A Single Tank of Fuel”! – Climate- Science.press

    […] The End For Electric Cars? VW Develops New Hydrogen Technology: “2,000 Km On A Single Tank Of … […]

  2. William Astley

    I would like to see the prototype hydrogen vehicle that can travel 2000 kilometers on a single ‘tank’ of fuel. What is the size of the ‘tank’ and pressure of the hydrogen stored? Is the hydrogen stored as a liquid or as a gas?

    Hydrogen storage is dangerous, energy wasteful, and expensive because the tiny hydrogen molecule leaks out and because it takes more significantly more energy to compress hydrogen or liquify hydrogen, than natural gas. This scheme will never work because of basic physic/engineering problems which will makes a hydrogen scheme too expensive and energy inefficient.

    Hydrogen is extraordinarily difficult and dangerous to store (as a liquid or as a gas) and to transport via pipeline. Liquifying hydrogen requires roughly 30% more energy than liquifying natural gas. Storing liquid hydrogen is expensive and wasteful as there is a continual loss of hydrogen.

    It is for those reasons that there will never be hydrogen filling stations in every neighbourhood. Interesting that google now hides the few sites that explained why the hydrogen scheme will never work.

    1. JD

      That information is outdated
      In a report by Airbus about hydrogen planes they concluded that hydrogen isn’t more dangerous than kerosene

      The modern composite tanks can store hydrogen for years, multiple times more time than a battery

      Replacing a technology with a 20% efficiency, it is silly bringing up is efficiency, specially when it is more than compensated with be better efficiency on other parts of the system (time, increase in the renovable plans utilisation, better scalability, less resources…)

      1. Phil Salmon

        Hydrogen as jet fuel is extremely inefficient.
        One quarter only – 25% – of the hydrogen is burned to produce propulsion energy. The rest is just lost. So 75% of the fuel is carried uselessly in the aircraft.

        Optimistically, this hydrogen efficiency might in future increase to 50%.
        Note this is just the percentage that burns only. It’s not the overall propulsion efficiency which will be lower still.

        Overall hydrogen is a road to nowhere.

    2. Spencer Hohan

      You really aren’t much of an engineer of any kind, are you?

  3. Yonason

    The article seems long on assertions and short on data to back them up. I’ll believe it when I see it.

  4. Richard Greene

    Sounds just like a green dreamer article
    Strange that it is here.

  5. jollygreenman

    Tell me more, tell me more, ah ha, etc.

    Before shooting this story down, i just want to know more, it sounds almost too good to be true.

    1. David

      It’s total fairy tale stuff.

  6. Graeme No.3

    I calculated that if a semitrailer used a 200 litre tank to store diesel fuel it would hold (approx.) 180 kg.
    That same tank would hold 15 kg. of liquid hydrogen (with lots of problems), but the Greens hydrogen say has 3 times the energy of the same weight of fuel so the the truck driver would only get one quarter of the distance per tankful.
    So this new fuel cell will need to be four times the efficiency of the current diesel motor.

    1. Curious George

      That’s where the breakthrough lies – an efficiency well over 100%.

    2. JD

      An electric motor is about 3 times more efficient than a diesel engine

      The current Nikola hydrogen truck has the same range than a diesel one, they just add a few extra deposits behind the cabin

      1. Curious George

        That puts the electric motor efficiency at 130%.

      2. Billy

        JD
        Electricity is not a fuel or energy source. It is an enegy transfer method. It has to be produced by some type or engine or energy conversion device. Electic motors are used with diesel engines on trains.
        The efficiency of the electric motor is irrelevant to the overall problem.
        You still have to charge the battery or produce the hydrogen by some means.

  7. Spuyten

    This 2,000 km range they speak of works in multiple directions; N-S-E-W, and straight up if the tank goes off. /s/
    https://appel.nasa.gov/2011/02/02/explosive-lessons-in-hydrogen-safety/

  8. David

    This is total BS.

  9. Hasbeen

    Porsche part of VW are claiming they have developed a synthetic liquid fuel, a simple replacement for petrol, made from hydrogen & CO2 from the air, thus CO2 neutral.

    It would appear VW are exploring various ways of covering themselves against government stupidity, & battery car mandates.

    1. Graeme No.3

      Fischer Tropf reaction? Normally uses hydrogen and carbon monoxide and produces straight chain molecules of various molecular weight (up to higher melting point waxes). These are not much us as petrol but proven as diesel fuel.
      They could have a reaction that convert CO2 into CO and a standard reaction thereafter.

      Curiously it would be easier to use the original starting point using coal & steam as the starting point. Cheaper too.

  10. Leroy Essel

    Producing “clear” hydrogen at $0.25 USD per gasoline gallon equivalent from abandoned oil wells or all stranded fossil fuel assets will compete with natural gas as well. Existing infrastructure can blend 20% hydrogen inside natural gas pipelines. The @Proton_Canada on Twitter explains the process and Canada alone has 800 year supply safely stored in fossil fuels underground. The use of diesel engines can be economically retrofitted with high pressure hydrogen injectors and carbon fiber tanks have been approved for 10,000 PSI storage of compressed hydrogen gas that does not have to be 100% purified. Mass production or retrofitted diesel engines are ideal for farming application in dusty environments without concern for contamination or mechanical degradation.

  11. pochas94

    Should make for a quick little sportster. Until it EXPLODES!!! that is. 😰

    1. Jd

      Hydrogen has been used in the industry for nearly 100 years, it is well understood

      Doesn’t explote easily, because it is so light that it floats away if there is a leek

      One of the test that the Mirai tank had to pass is to not catch fire after been shot by a gun

    2. Leroy Essel

      Here is a list of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for safe travel by: “Hyundai Nexo, Toyoto Mirai, BMW iX5, Kia FK/Hyundai FK, Land Rover Defender Fuel Cell Vehicle, Range Rover FCEV and Honda Clarity all have safe hydrogen fuel tanks to power fuel cell vehicles but somehow they haven’t exploded yet and have been approved by Department of Transportation similar to 15 million vehicles of compressed natural gas fueled internal combustion engines. But if you are fearful of compressed hydrogen and natural gas fuel tanks at 10,000 PSI there is the option of liquid ammonia fuel tanks produced from hydrogen or metallic hydrides for safe hydrogen storage.

      1. pochas94

        Whoda thunk it?

      2. Tom Goldie

        And ammonia is naturally scented,making leak detection a cinch.

  12. Johanus

    And when hydrogen burns it only produces energy and _water vapor_, which is not a dangerous greenhouse gas.

    Oh, wait, it seems that water vapor does contribute more to total GHG warming than CO2.

    But it’s OK because somebody said it was not dangerous. /s

  13. Peter Jort

    FCEBs, fuel cell electric busses powered by Ballard fuel cells have traveled more than 100 million kilometers of revenue service, what more needs to be said.

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