Even though the CCC (Climate Change Committee) has repeatedly stated that it sees no place for hydrogen in road transport, car makers such as BMW and Toyota believe this judgment is wrong and will actually slow the journey to net zero if drivers choose to stick with ICE power, rather than move to battery-electric vehicles (BEVs).
Speaking at a ‘Hydrogen Summit’ organised by BMW on 6 June, David Wong, the head of technology and innovation at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said: “We feel as an industry that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are complimentary to battery electric vehicles in heading towards one common direction, and that’s to decarbonise road transport and get us to Net Zero as a nation.
“We think hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are not the enemy to batteries. And battery-electric vehicles are not the enemy to hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. The common enemy is carbon and fossil fuels, and hydrogen fuel cells are zero-emission.
“That is why we think it is complementary to battery electric vehicles, as it gets us towards the same destination, and that demands technological openness and, for vehicle manufacturers investing in both technologies, a degree of commitment to a multi-pathway approach.
“The reality we’re facing, in the UK and many other parts of the world, is that for a variety of reasons, it is difficult for some people to go fully electric. Whether it’s due to the number of chargers, or constraints with the electrical grid, or other reasons, and that is where having other options, are so important.”
Wong went on to speak about how the UK Government must support the development of a European-style hydrogen filling station network which would result in a genuine alternative to battery-powered EVs for UK drivers.
He said: “The first thing we need, we feel, is a hydrogen refilling infrastructure. We need more! In the UK at one point in time, we had 13 [filling stations], but the number has gone down significantly – we hope of course things will improve with the investment going in.
“We feel there’s [a need for] a dense network of hydrogen fuelling stations, because that’s the first step in this chicken and egg situation.”
At the same time, Wong called for the ending of the recent application of the expensive car tax supplement to zero-emission vehicles.
He said: “We need to ensure these vehicles are supported on the road, and one easy and common measure, is reform to the expensive luxury car supplement, within Vehicle Excise Duty.
“Some of you may know, particularly if you’re in the market for a new zero-emission vehicle, that from 1 April, you’re liable to pay a supplement from years two to six.
“That’s perverse, because if you want to promote zero-emission vehicles, and help people to go green, that’s the one thing we believe the Treasury should do.”
The support that’s currently missing in the UK has encouraged BMW enough to commit to launching its first hydrogen fuel-cell-powered production model in 2028. However, as things stand, the UK won’t be one of the countries where it will be sold.
Another speaker on the panel, BMW’s head of hydrogen tech, Dr Jürgen Guldner, said: “We’re thinking ahead, thinking about those people who can’t, or don’t want to use electric cars, because maybe they don’t have charging at home, maybe they are on the road a lot and don’t want to depend on charging stops, if we can get the charging down to 20 minutes at some point.
“Other issues such as trailering, and the fact it’s unaffected by weather conditions, where a battery car must be warmed up by using the energy in the battery, whereas in the fuel cell car, you can use the energy from the exhaust, and excess energy from the fuel cell system – not losing any range.
“We at BMW have pioneered the decarbonisation of the transport sector over many, many years. Our first step was the pilot project, that was the iX5, and with that car we learnt a lot. What we learned, we are implementing into our first series production model, as in 2028 we will bring a model to market, and then after that we’ll see what the roll out will be.
“We have not decided yet which countries we’ll bring this car to, but those markets will depend on the infrastructure, and we hope the UK infrastructure will develop further. Right now, the UK is simply not in a condition where it would make sense to launch this vehicle. Hopefully in the next few years, the development will pick up, and there would be more hydrogen filling stations, that would allow a market introduction.”
At this moment, UK fleet buyers only have the choice of two hydrogen cars – the Toyota Mirai, and the Hyundai Nexo, with sales limited to mostly corporate buyers, who can work with the currently limited hydrogen fuelling network.
Yet Jon Hunt, Toyota GB senior manager for hydrogen transformation, who also spoke at the conference about their vehicles, said: “Our role is to provide customers with choice. They can make decisions that best suit themselves.
“Today there are only around 75,000 fuel cell vehicles on the road. In the UK, we’ve sold 230+ Mirais, so it is in the early stages. What we can’t have is people dismissing technologies which are there to enable us all. So, I would request that people respect the fact that bringing these technologies to market is for the benefit of all, to give options and choices, and our job as an automotive manufacturer is to be able to allow those to be accessible, and usable for all our customers.”
