Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\FacebookOpenGraph.xslt Mike Waters' blog: 30 September 2010 - Hydrogen power
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Mike Waters' blog: 30 September 2010 - Hydrogen power

Date: 30 September 2010

Mike Waters is head of market analysis at Arval

It was interesting to see that the Honda FCX Clarity, claimed to be the world's first hydrogen fuel cell car to come off a production line, has recently been demonstrated in the UK as a future potential vehicle. Hydrogen fuel cells are another illustration of how levels of complexity will increase in the future and that fleets will have some challenging decisions to make about alternative fuelled vehicles.

The hydrogen vehicle from Honda is still electric but the difference is how the electricity is generated. In a hydrogen fuel car, the power is stored in the form of gaseous hydrogen, the gas then flows to the fuel cell where a controlled reaction takes place between the hydrogen and oxygen from the atmosphere. That produces two things: water, which is the waste product and comes out of the exhaust and electricity that is sent to the electric motor at the front.

Although there are currently limited locations in the UK where you can fill up a hydrogen vehicle, plans are underway to implement a further series of hydrogen refuelling stations.

The development of alternative fuels to petrol and diesel has been ongoing for decades and as global climate change has risen up the political agenda, low carbon technologies are rapidly advancing. Now electric and hydrogen powertrains are competing for manufacturer R & D spend alongside conventional petrol and diesel technology with every manufacturer also looking at hybridisation; where two or more technologies run side by side.

These developments are already leading fleets to have to make decisions about what technologies have the best practical application for them and this is an area on which they will need to get expert advice that will help to ensure the fleet is future proofed as much as possible. Innovation in low carbon technologies will bring choices for fleets and they will need advice to help them make the right choice based on their own business needs.

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