16 VW's Passat Lingyu fuel cell vehicles finally make it to the U.S.
Passat Lingyu
We expected to see the hydrogen fuel cell-powered versions of the Passat Lingyu at the Los Angeles Auto Show last fall. We didn't spot any back then, but these fuel cell VWs should be easier to find in California now that Volkswagen Group of America has announced that 16 of them will be used for fleet demonstrations by the California Fuel Cell Partnership in Sacramento. The Partnership believes that hydrogen vehicles are "the best option" for full-function vehicles that also have reduced emissions.
The hydrogen Passat was developed a few years ago by VW engineers working with researchers from Tongji University and was used during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. It can reach 90 mph and go 146 miles between refills. The 16 Chinese vehicles bring VW's fuel cell fleet at the California Fuel Cell Partnership to 24. More details after the jump.
[Source: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.]
PRESS RELEASE:
Volkswagen Group of America Announces U.S. Arrival of 16 Passat Lingyu Fuel Cell Vehicles
- Zero Emissions Vehicles to Participate in Fuel Cell Demonstrations in Sacramento -
HERNDON, Va., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Volkswagen Group of America announced today that 16 Passat Lingyu vehicles will participate in fleet demonstrations at the California Fuel Cell Partnership in Sacramento, Calif. These prototype vehicles were developed in China and debuted at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The Passat Lingyu fuel cell vehicles are being added to the existing fleet of eight Volkswagen fuel cell vehicles also at the California Fuel Cell Partnership. In total, these 24 vehicles create the largest fleet of fuel cell cars from a single manufacturer at one location anywhere in the world.
"The Passat Lingyu prototype reflects Volkswagen Group's long standing commitment to develop new solutions for a clean future," said Professor Dr. Jurgen Leohold, Head of Volkswagen Group Research.
Volkswagen Group worked with scientists at Tongji University to create these fuel cell vehicles that are based on one of China's best-selling Volkswagen platforms. The Passat Lingyu is capable of traveling at highway speeds up to 90 mph and as far as 146 miles on a single tank of fuel. The only byproduct released from the tailpipe is water and oxygen.
"These vehicles logged nearly 50,000 miles in Beijing - with zero harmful emissions. We can think of no better place to next exhibit this environmentally-friendly technology than at the California Fuel Cell Partnership," said John Tillman, program manager for Volkswagen's U.S. Advanced Powertrain Research Program. In addition to working with the California Fuel Cell Partnership, the company also operates a number of university research projects in the state.
In a quest toward sustainable mobility, Volkswagen Group is exploring a number of new technologies to achieve greater fuel efficiency and reduce harmful emissions. The company's commitment to the environment also covers the entire lifespan of a car, from the earliest stages of the manufacturing process to the vehicle's final trip to the recycling yard.
"We will not achieve sustainability alone," said Anna Schneider, director of government-industry relations for Volkswagen Group of America. "We need global solutions to global problems and these international and domestic partnerships are absolutely critical to advancing our environmental objectives."
About Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, the world's third largest automaker and the largest carmaker in Europe. It houses the U.S. operations of a worldwide family of distinguished and exciting brands including Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Volkswagen, as well as VW Credit, Inc. Founded in 1955, the company's headquarters are in Herndon, Va.
Volkswagen Group of America brings to the U.S. vehicles that marry the science of engineering and the art of styling, with the goal of offering attractive, safe, and environmentally sound automobiles that are competitive and set world standards in their respective classes.
The company has approximately 2,500 employees in the United States and sells its vehicles through an 800-strong dealer network. With increasing popularity for its brands in the U.S., the company has set the goal of reaching one million car sales in the country by 2018.
For more information, visit www.volkswagengroupamerica.com.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gorr 5:58PM (2/24/2009)
They don't sell these fuelcell cars because car manufacturers are associated together by a big banking cartel that impede each others to compete for real. It's been 10 years that they hesitate to bring that to market. Anyway maybe it's because hydrogen gas is free, that's why everyone is impeded to just add a compressed hydrogen tank in his/her/them cars or truck or a water electrolyser hydrogen gas producing machine inside their car, truck, airplane, ship, trains, electrical generation, vtt, motorcycle, bycycle, roller blade with small wearable motor on the back, camping van, small helicopter, etc.
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GoodCheer 6:57PM (2/24/2009)
Seriously gorr:
Go buy some hydrogen gas. You'll quickly find out that it's not free.
If -you- really can make it for free and you know the market price, you will soon want to quit your day job and just make H2 for free and sell it to the rest of us suckers at that market price.
Doesn't that sound like a great system?
paulwesterberg 6:12PM (2/24/2009)
They don't sell these fuel cell cars because there is no way to fill them up, it would cost too much to build hydrogen filling stations and filling your tank with hydrogen would cost more than filling it with gas.
Even if you could make the fuel cells affordable making hydrogen for fuel will never be the most efficient way to utilize our scarce energy resources.
But, right now you can fill your tesla roadster with(240 mile range) for about $4 at any electric plug.
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Chris M 11:05PM (2/24/2009)
Up to 146 miles per tank? Not impressed. For the price of just one of these H2 FC cars, they could have built a dozen EVs with greater range and better performance.
Sounds like VW just wanted to pick up some of that government H2 research subsidy money, but didn't want to put out too much money, so they farmed it out to China to get it done cheaper. But even with cheap Chinese labor, it's still far too expensive, still far from mass market sales.
Maybe VW will take some of the knowledge and money earned from the hydrogen hype and apply it to make some practical plug-ins instead.
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bob 9:59PM (3/04/2009)
The Hyprocritical Hydrogen Haters are still at it, bombing the hydrogen articles, wasting their time (and readers) with petty arguments against hydrogen research.
Yes, they could have built more EVs for the price, so that means they must automatically be the solution for everyone, and H2 is useless!!!... bla bla bla...
...but, wait a minute, what's the recharge time on those? Oh, and do I just run an extension cord out my apartment window to my parking space on the street a couple blocks away to charge it for several hours before I can go anywhere? No problem! I'll just type negative comments on Autobloggreen while I'm waiting for my car to charge....
Boy, I hope Government Motors can get it's Volt in showrooms ASAP.... but, will their Chinese manufactured motors make profits possible so we can get our tax money back?
I hope so, then this big oil/hydrogen conspiracy will all be over and everyone can buy an electric car so Chevron can finally make some real money on the battery patents that it owns. We'll all be so happy to finally use our "scarce energy resources" in the most efficient way that we can!
Chris M 11:35PM (3/04/2009)
LOL! Amazing how the hydrogen hypers can simply ignore issues of cost and efficiency, and zero in on the "slow recharge" issue. Really, what is so bad about just plugging in, then going off to do something else like eat or sleep or read ABG for a few hours while the EV quietly charges? Besides, that one lone advantage of H2 fuel vanishes with the advent of "swappable" batteries or quick 10 minute charge (already demonstrated!) or "thousand mile range" batteries or powered roadways supplying power on the move.
As for "running a cord out the apartment window", well, if you can't afford a garage for an EV, then you really REALLY can't afford a H2 FC vehicle costing more than the average suburban 4 bedroom 2 car garage house. Besides, when EVs become popular, lots of parking lot owners (and many apartment landlords) will be installing charging facilities to make a little extra moolah.
jharlan 11:35PM (2/24/2009)
I noticed they didn't seem to eager to throw out any pricing figures. Why do you suppose that is?
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jake 2:37AM (2/25/2009)
I went past the Fuel Cell Partnership once on a trip. Kind of have mixed feelings about them. It's mostly because of them that set back BEVs quite a bit.
146 miles isn't that impressive, I would expect a little more from Fuel cells.
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