HYDROGEN fuelled cars may sound like something from a Ridley Scott sci-fi film but it was back at the turn of the millennium car manufacturers were actually beginning to experiment with prototype vehicles.
Back then hydrogen vehicles were incredibly expensive to develop and despite hydrogen being the most abundant element in the world it was an extremely complex and dangerous fuel to store.
But the benefits were enormous and with the only emissions from the exhaust being water it was an automotive avenue mainstream car makers would soon again explore.
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Toyota, Audi, Hyundai, VW and Honda make up the core of manufacturers who have rekindled an interest, and now hydrogen powered cars look closer to mass production than ever before.
- They’re already on sale (almost)
Toyota is aiming to be the first car maker in the world to bring a hydrogen powered car to the market. Called the Mirai, it will arrive autumn but with an eye-watering £63,104 price tag slapped on its windscreen (although the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell is already available to specialist order).
Beneath the futuristic body lies a hydrogen fuel-cell stack developing 153bhp and 335Nm of torque. It can hit 60mph in a respectable nine seconds and go onto a top speed of 111mph.
It’s about as long as a Vauxhall Insignia and has a decent sized boot at 371 litres. It all sounds rather promising and reassuringly familiar. Of the 700 models Toyota plans on building each year, European customers will have access of up to 100 models.
- Zero CO2 emissions = low company car tax
Rather than dirty CO2, the only tailpipe emissions from hydrogen fuelled cars is water. Manufacturers such as Audi claims that the water the fuel-cell stack produces can be drank.
Evidently, the main benefit for business users here is that zero CO2 emissions mean very low company car tax bands. From the 2015/16 calendar year vehicles which emit between 0-50g/km will attract a 5 per cent BIK company car tax rating – which is as low as it gets.