BUSINESS MOTORING
describes as “next-generation” hydrogen-powered electric vehicles. The fi rm has the stated mission of “pursuing, systematically, the elimination of the environmental impact of personal transport”. Hugo Spowers, its founder and chief engineer, says: “Riversimple is probably the only car manufacturer in the world that hopes never to sell a car. Our ambition is to make clean cars practical and accessible to all those who would like to replace their diesel and petrol vehicles but can’t see how a battery electric car would work for them. We believe that the only way to meet today’s environmental imperatives is to pioneer a business model that makes resource minimisation and effi ciency profi table without asking the customer to pay a premium for that. We’ll be offering fun-to-drive vehicles as a complete and cost-transparent subscription service, with a single monthly fee that also covers all the fuel, maintenance and insurance costs.”
Riversimple is building its fi rst fl eet of 20 vehicles. It will test these and the subscription service
in a “clean mobility trial” before the end of the year. The company is also planning to invest in a factory that will ultimately be capable of producing 5,000 vehicles a year.
6. WHO’S LEADING THE WAY GLOBALLY?
Three mainstream automotive manufacturers – Honda, Hyundai and Toyota – have so far mass- produced commercially available FCVs. Only the Hyundai ix35 and the Toyota Mirai are on the market in the UK at present, but Hyundai is taking orders for its forthcoming Nexo fuel-cell sport utility vehicle. This model promises to go more than 400 miles on one tank of hydrogen. All of these cars cost in the region of £65,000, although Toyota has said that it expects to be able to sell its hydrogen-powered vehicles at the same price as their equivalent hybrid models by the mid-2020s. A number of other big
manufacturers have expressed an intention to launch production FCVs in future, including Audi, BMW, General Motors and Mercedes-Benz.
7. HOW MUCH DOES A HYDROGEN-POWERED CAR COST TO RUN?
A full tank of green hydrogen – ie, produced using renewable energy – costs about £75 at the pump. This will take you approximately 350 miles in one of the latest FCVs, equating to about 21p per mile.
“In terms of refuelling, the cost of hydrogen power is broadly comparable to that of petrol and diesel, while the maintenance costs are analogous to what you’d pay with an electric vehicle,” Marchment says. “The vehicles we have in use at Arval are subsidised by the government as part of the Hydrogen Hub project and are leased to businesses at rates that are similar to those charged for conventional company cars. The challenge facing manufacturers over the next few years is to bring FCVs to market in larger numbers at a cost that makes them viable for business users. We need to respond by ensuring that the refuelling infrastructure is in place to support them.”
Curnick reports that the cost of green hydrogen is falling as new
production routes are “developed and scaled. In contrast, the cost of fossil fuels must necessarily rise as we curtail our carbon emissions over the coming years. Hydrogen vehicles are likely to be signifi cantly cheaper to run than their petrol and diesel equivalents in future. FCVs’ zero- emission credentials also place them in the lowest brackets for both vehicle excise duty and company car tax.”
8. WHAT ARE THE MAIN
DRAWBACKS OF HYDROGEN- POWERED VEHICLES?
Apart from the relatively high price and low availability of FCVs, the lack of refuelling infrastructure is their most obvious disadvantage. “As things stand, there will be only 16 refuelling facilities open across the UK by the end of 2019. Consequently, users are clustered around these areas,” Marchment says. “One aim of the Hydrogen Hub is to build up the infrastructure, probably to about 80 sites initially, to enable much greater adoption around the country.” Pinkse adds that hydrogen- powered vehicles are still lacking the scale of investment that their conventional electric equivalents have enjoyed. As a result, it will take longer for them to reach the mainstream and become affordable.
“Some people see electric vehicles as a bridging technology towards hydrogen vehicles, but this progression is not guaranteed,” he says. “Another problem shared by the two technologies is the chicken- and-egg conundrum of infrastructure and cars. Without enough FCVs on the road, there is no business case for a wide refuelling network and vice versa. At least the recharging infrastructure that electric vehicles need is an extension of the existing electricity grid, which is making it easier to implement. For hydrogen- fuelled vehicles, a completely new infrastructure will have to be developed – a more expensive and uncertain process.”
Some people have raised concerns that hydrogen presents a safety risk, owing to its highly combustible nature. But its advocates point out that consumers have managed to overcome similar fears about the fl ammability of petrol, diesel and lithium-ion batteries.
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