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The new Subaru Stella plug-in isn't the only Japanese green car making its debut next month at the G8 conference in Hokkaido. Suzuki's in the game as well with a new hydrogen fuel cell version of its SX4 crossover, the SX4-FCV. Fitted with a fuel cell supplied by GM, and a 70 MPa (10,000 psi) storage tank for the H₂, the SX4-FCV has a maximum operating range of 250 kilometers and a top speed of 120 km/h (around 75 mph). Power output from the fuel cell is rated at 80 kW, while the motor delivers 68 kW. Road testing has been approved by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and transport, and will commence soon.

[Source: Suzuki]

By the middle of the next decade Mercedes-Benz wants its entire lineup to be able to operate entirely free of petroleum. The German giant is working on a variety of technologies that will help provide crude oil free transport such as battery electrics, fuel cells and highly efficient internal combustion engines that can operate on biofuels. Mercedes has recently been letting European journalists sample some of these new powertrains at a test facility in Spain.

The F700 concept that debuted last fall in Frankfurt is powered by a turbocharged DiesOtto engine. The DiesOtto is Mercedes' branding for a combined HCCI and spark ignition engine that provides nearly the same efficiency as a diesel without the need for the expensive after-treatment systems. This and conventional diesel engines can run on biofuels and Mercedes hopes to launch the DiesOtto in production by 2010. Mercedes is also currently field testing electrically-driven vehicles with both batteries alone and fuel cells each of which they also plan to launch at the beginning of the decade. While it may well be that all Mercedes models in 2015 will be capable of running petroleum free, the reality is that many - if not most - will still be using fossil fuels much of the time. That may come in the form of coal for electricity, natural gas reformed into hydrogen, or petroleum fuels blended with biofuels. But you have to start somewhere.

[Source: The Sun]

Honda has officially kicked off production of the FCX Clarity fuel cell car in Tochigi, Japan. As the first cars began to roll down the line today some of the first customers were on hand to receive ceremonial keys to the cars that they will start receiving next month. Car number 1 will go to film producer Ron Yerxa sometime in July. Honda CEO Takeo Fukui announced the first five customers at a ceremony at the first dedicated fuel cell vehicle factory in the world. Along with Yerxa, Jon Spallino, Jim Salomon, Laura Harris, and Jamie Lee Curtis and her filmmaker husband Christopher Guest will be getting Claritys. Spallino was the first retail customer of the original FCX and, along with his wife, has been driving a fuel cell car for three years now.

During the ceremony, Power Honda Costa Mesa (Costa Mesa), Honda of Santa Monica (Santa Monica) and Scott Robinson Honda (Torrance) were named as the first part of the network of dealers providing sales and service support for the fuel cell vehicle fleet. For Spallino, the new Clarity will certainly be a huge step up from the original FCX. The new car has been designed from the ground up as a fuel cell vehicle and everything has been optimized for this application. The aluminum-framed car weighs in at only 3528lbs and the new vertical flow fuel cell stack is small enough to reside in the center tunnel of the car and provide a 270 mile range. Honda plans to deliver about 200 Claritys to U.S. and Japanese customers in the next couple of years.

Related:

• First Drive: 2009 Honda FCX Clarity, world's first series production fuel cell car
• First Drive: 2009 Honda FCX Clarity on the road
• AutoblogGreen Q&A: Honda's Stephen Ellis talks about hydrogen, Part 1
• AutoblogGreen Q&A: Honda's Stephen Ellis on hydrogen, Part 2

[Source: Honda]

General Motors is announcing a new partnership today with Clean Energy to install a hydrogen filling station near Los Angeles International Airport. Clean Energy is a California-based company that currently operates 170 compressed natural gas filling stations around the country and the new LAX hydrogen station will be on the same site with a CNG station. The new LAX station to be operated by Clean Energy will be available to participants in GM's Project Driveway fuel cell field test program. According to Dan O'Connel, GM's Director of Fuel Cell Commercialization, the primary user of the facility will likely be Virgin Atlantic. The airline is taking six of the fuel cell Equinoxes (up from three) that are being used for Project Driveway to use for shuttling first class passengers to and from the airport. Beyond this first station, Clean Energy is looking at adding additional stations at other locations as well as examining the feasibility of on-site reforming of natural gas to produce hydrogen.

General Motors has now built 85 of the planned 100+ Equinoxes for the program and will have delivered 40 of them to customers within the next two weeks. Customers are apparently very pleased with the performance and are regularly topping the 160mile range estimate which was based on the EPA test cycle. According to O'Connell the only real complaint they've had so far besides people not wanting to give up the vehicles after three months is they want to be more visible. Many of the first batch of vehicles had little in the way of signage to distinguish them from standard Equinoxes and people want to show off the fact that they are driving bleeding edge technology.

[Sources: General Motors, HydrogenForecast]

Nobody could ever accuse Hyundai of not thinking big. The Korean carmaker has grown into the fourth largest volume import brand in the U.S. market and is now on the verge of launching into the luxury and high-performance segments. So far, aside from some concepts and relatively efficient small cars, they haven't made any big waves in the green tech area, at least in the U.S. In an interview with Britain's AutoCar print edition, CEO Dr. Kim Dong-Jin made it clear the company is targeting the big dogs like Toyota in the coming decade. Hyundai has been running test fleets of hybrids in Korea, as well as fuel cell vehicles in both Korea and the U.S. Dr. Kim claims that Hyundai's products will be more advanced than the Prius. The question is will they be more advanced than today's Prius or the third-gen model that's coming next year? Hyundai is developing a lot of technology in-house, including fuel cells, hybrids and diesels that are already offered overseas and coming to the U.S. as soon as 2010. Hybrids are due to arrive at about the same time with limited numbers of fuel cell vehicles hitting the market a year after that.

[Source: AutoCar, via Winding Road]

General Motor's Project Driveway campaign began late last year and is expected to continue on for a total of three years. A few of the participants have spoken about their experiences with the hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles, and now one of them will be blogging on Popular Mechanics regarding his ongoing experience. Fortunately for Daniel Krach, he lives close enough to a hydrogen fueling station that the hydrogen-powered vehicle's 160 mile range should not pose a problem. He says that he was selected after a rigorous few months of questioning due to his penchant for being an early-adopter when it comes to new technology. Indeed, his family considers him a nerd. We can truly feel his pain. Considering that it has gotten him the keys to a brand new high-tech vehicle, which he didn't even need to pay for, we'd imagine that nobody's laughing at him now.

So far, his journey is just beginning, and of course, we wish Daniel the best with his new ride and we look forward to reading more about the experiences he gains as he drives the new-fangled vehicle all around.

[Source: Popular Mechanics]

Ah, those Italians and their penchant for rolling art. While the Fiat Phylla solar car concept may not yet exist in drivable form, it's asymmetrical styling sure is an attention getter. Presented a few days ago in Turin, Italy during "Uniamo le energie," this city car is designed to use solar panels and a hydrogen fuel cell to send power to each of its four wheels yet emit nothing but water and good vibes.

The project involved many different entities and agencies including the Piedmont Region, which sponsored and funded the undertaking, From Concept to Car and the Institute of Applied Art and Design, to name just a few, while the effort was directed by the Fiat Research Center. Besides its environmental goals of producing a high efficiency, recyclable vehicle powered chiefly by alternative sources of energy including solar, hydropower and biogas, the group sought to create a product that would be amenable to car-sharing programs and be inexpensive to operate. Indeed, since the Phylla is said to be capable of traveling 18 kilometers (11 miles) with just the energy it captures from the sun during the day, we think it is within reach of at least some of its goals.

Honda has just announced details of the leasing program for the new FCX Clarity fuel cell car that was unveiled at the LA Auto Show last November. The Clarity will be the first series "production" fuel cell vehicle available for lease to retail customers and the first examples will be delivered in July of this year. American Honda expects to lease about 200 Claritys during the first three years of the program. Right now, Honda is filtering through the 50,000 people that have shown interest in the lease program. The majority of those people who will be ruled ineligible because they don't live within range of a hydrogen filling station in the Los Angeles area.

The first batch of lessees will be announced on June 16 when the first Clarity rolls off the assembly line in Japan. The leases will be three year terms at $600/month which includes the insurance for the car. To qualify for a lease, potential customers will have to go through a multi step process that evaluates where they live and drive, and whether they have the financial means to pay for the car. When we talked to Honda's Stephen Ellis a few months ago, the retail price of hydrogen in the LA area was about $5/kg (equivalent to about 1 gallon of gas). The Clarity has a range of 270 miles and gets the equivalent of about 68mpg for gasoline. The full press release with all the details is after the jump.



All photos ©2007 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Click on the image for more shots of the Suzuki Crosscage in action

We've been keeping tabs on Suzuki's innovative Crosscage concept bike since its debut at the last Tokyo Auto Show. Since then, Suzuki and Intelligent Energy, makers of the fuel cell ENV bike and the fuel cell powering the Crosscage, have been working hard on making this vehicle workable. It's apparently paid dividends, as you can see from the pictures of the bike in operation. From what we can tell, this machine is, in fact, fully operational and is running on electricity. Even exotic parts such as the single-sided front fork and rear swingarm are present and accounted for on the running version of the prototype. Very thin-section tires are used for their low rolling resistance, which should translate into extended range. The seat features an innovative flip-up action, allowing the hydrogen tank to be refilled. There is a full digital dash atop the bars including a tachometer and speedometer. We're rather surprised that this bike has gotten so far in the design stage in such short order. Keep up the good work, Suzuki!


[Source: Solo Moto via Hell For Leather]

At first we thought somebody out there was exercising their ninja photoshop skillz but then it occurred to us that those folks would probably not be busying themselves with the likes of the G-Wiz. No, this had to be the product of a mind so sick, so twisted, that it created the original Reva G-Wiz, on which this pick-em-up truck appears to be based, to begin with. Luckily, we live in the age of the internets and after sending out a correctly formatted query down a tube, back shot the hoped-for response.

From a page created somewhere back in the mist of time (2006) came the reassuring news that this crime sin peccancy iteration of the G-Wiz was a one-off built as a test bed for a phosphoric acid fuel cell. This cell used methanol instead of hydrogen as an energy source and negated the need for a hydrogen storage system. Of course, it also created the need for a methanol storage system but that's beside the point. Since nary a peep has been heard about this creation since an article describing the project was published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, we feel it's safe to assume the concept has been put to rest. If you want to make sure that this is the case you'll have to pick up a copy of the latest magazine published by the Battery Vehicle Society (BVS) and look for an article about the truck written by Mike Boxwell.

[Source: G-Wiz Owners Club]

Apparently, China hasn't learned from the policies of the United States when it comes to petroleum prices. For decades, the price of gasoline has not reflected its true cost because prices have not factored in the cost of military expenditures required to maintain "friendly" governments in countries that supply large amounts of our oil. As a result Americans have long favored larger, more powerful vehicles - and they could afford them because gasoline was cheap and plentiful. China has gone from being a net exporter of oil to the world's largest consumer since 1994. China now imports half its oil needs and subsidizes the retail price to less than $3/gallon.

As a result Chinese drivers with increasing disposable incomes are opting for bigger, more powerful and thirstier vehicles, just like Americans. SUV sales jumped 38 percent and luxury car sales jumped 30 percent in the first two months of this year, bucking the trend in the U.S. Those segments are outpacing the overall sales increase of 16 percent in the fast growing market. Just as in the U.S., the Chinese government is pushing automakers to build more efficient vehicles but so far consumers aren't buying. It seems that just as in the U.S. and elsewhere only higher fuel prices will prompt drivers to go for more efficient vehicles. The Chinese government is certainly in a better position to determine what fuel prices will be than in other countries and with a market that is still evolving they could make a push for alternatives like battery and fuel cell electric vehicles. Given the pollution that plagues cities like Beijing and the increasing dependence on imported oil, they need to do something.

[Source: New York Times]

Click on the image for more high-res shots

Based on a Peugeot Partner Origin van, the H₂Origin zero emissions urban delivery technical demonstrator (that's a mouthful!) has just been unveiled by Intelligent Energy and PSA Peugeot Citroën. The delivery van is powered by electricity and gains additional juice by way of a 10kWh hydrogen fuel cell system from IE. Together, the batteries and fuel cell can offer up a range of 300 kilometers (over 180 miles). In order to accommodate refueling needs, the empty compressed hydrogen tanks can be exchanged with fresh tanks. Without the fuel cell, range would be cut by two-thirds. Full press release after the break.

Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche told Motor Trend this week that increased cost was not going to be an issue for his company to meet new fuel economy standards. Obviously getting improved efficiency out of powertrains would make them more expensive as they have to meet U.S. CAFE and European CO₂ emissions limits. However, while U.S. executives like Bob Lutz are talking about adding $5,000 or more to the price to meet 35mpg standards, Zetsche looks at it differently. The use of clean diesels, HCCI DiesOtto engines, hybrids and fuel cells will raise prices. The higher initial purchase price will be offset for customers through reduced operating costs. According to Zetsche, if the cost premium can be recovered through fuel savings in the first 3-4 years of driving than customers will be satisfied. Mercedes also intends to protect their ten percent profit margins through increased efficiencies in other areas of the vehicle. That probably means that Mercedes owners will give up some features for improved efficiency. Of course for a premium brand like Mercedes, it's a lot easier to talk about protecting margins than it is for mainstream brands like GM and Ford. Being largely rid of the burden of Chrysler probably doesn't hurt either. Finally Zetsche says an S-Class diesel hybrid will debut in two years with DiesOtto engines about 3-5 years out.

[Source: Motor Trend]

GM isn't the only one ready for a lot of hydrogen fuel cell cars. Daimler chairman Dieter "Dr. Z" Zetsche believes that the technology for fuel cell vehicles is here today and that vehicles using the hydrogen-for-energy system will be available in five to eight years time. Zetsche also believes that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will compare favorably with their competition, which we assume means other alternative powertrains like full-electrics and hybrids. One reason he cites as a fuel cell benefit over electric cars is range, suggesting that hydrogen electrics could travel 300 miles on a single tank of hydrogen. One unanswered question, though, is how far will pure electrics be able to go on a single charge in five to eight years time. Still, by refilling a hydrogen tank, the driver gets another 300 miles while it will likely take another full charge for the electric car. Zetsche recognizes that a potential problem area exists regarding the infrastructure that a hydrogen fueling system would require. We remain intrigued by the technology, but recognize that major advancements must be made before jumping on the fuel cell bandwagon. We also believe that other extended-range electric vehicle technologies will allow for many of the same benefits as hydrogen fuel cells.

[Source: Just-Auto (sub. req'd.)]

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Reminding us again just how complex the hydrogen fuel cell is, Prodrive has issued a press release, pasted after the break, regarding a new ECU which it has developed with proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell maker Intelligent Energy (IE). You may remember IE from their ENV fuel cell electric motorcycle and their various collaborations with Suzuki. One of the stated problems that Prodrive was looking to conquer is the cold-starting and operation of hydrogen fuel cells. What they came up with is called the PP150, a specialized ECU suitable for volume production, with a price point of around £250 per unit.

Funding for this venture was provided by the Technology Strategy Board, a business-led executive non-departmental public body established by the U.K. government.