Mazda's first Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid leases start in Japan
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The first Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrids available to the public will soon be in the hands of the first lessees. Mazda announced today that it has started commercial leasing of the vehicles, which will be delivered later this year. Unlike the fuel cell-powered Honda FCX Clarity (leases for them started last July), the Premacy uses a hydrogen rotary engine in series configuration with lithium-ion batteries and an electric motor. When the 35 MPa high-pressure tank is filled with H2, the Premacy has a range of about 200 km (124 miles). For drivers worried about range, there's safety in knowing that the rotary engine can burn both hydrogen and gasoline.
The Premacy Hydrogen RE has been road testing since last fall. Mazda has been working hydrogen rotary engines since 1991, when it developed the HR-X engine. In 2006, Mazda began leasing an earlier hydrogen rotary vehicle, the RX-8 Hydrogen RE. More details after the jump.
[Source: Mazda]
PRESS RELEASE:
Mazda Begins Commercial Leasing of World's First Hybrid Rotary Hydrogen Vehicle
- First Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid vehicles registered in Japan -
HIROSHIMA, Japan-Mazda Motor Corporation today commenced commercial leasing of the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid, a hydrogen hybrid vehicle that offers substantially improved performance thanks to the addition of a hybrid system. Mazda is the world's first automobile manufacturer to begin commercial leasing of a hydrogen hybrid vehicle; the first units will be delivered to local government authorities and energy-related companies during 2009.
The Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid is Mazda's second hydrogen rotary engine model to be commercialized; the first was Mazda's unique RX-8 Hydrogen RE. The Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid's finalized specifications were approved by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) on March 5, 2009. The first vehicles received their registration numbers from the Hiroshima branch of the Chugoku District Transport Bureau on March 25.
The Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid features a series-type hybrid drivetrain, which combines Mazda's hydrogen rotary engine with an electric motor. The engine output is converted to electricity, which then powers the motor that drives the wheels. This hybrid system boosts the hydrogen fuel range of the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid to 200 kilometers, twice the range of the RX-8 Hydrogen RE, and increases the maximum output by approximately 40 percent, to 110 kilowatts. Mazda's latest eco-car features many other forward-looking environmental technologies, including Mazda's proprietary dual-fuel system, which enables the car to run on gasoline if hydrogen is unavailable, and interior parts made from Mazda's plant-derived Biotechmaterials.
Based on the Sustainable Zoom-Zoom plan, Mazda is committed to pursuing harmony between driving pleasure and environmental and safety features, and the quest for an advanced Zoom-Zoom world. Mazda aims to offer vehicles that "look inviting to drive, are fun to drive, and make you want to drive them again."
Main specifications of the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid
- Base model: Mazda Premacy
- Overall length: 4,565mm
- Overall width: 1,745mm
- Overall height: 1,620 mm
- Engine: Mazda's hydrogen rotary engine (with dual-fuel system)
- Motor: Alternating current synchronous motor
- Maximum output: 110 kW
- Generator: Alternating current synchronous generator
- Battery: Lithium-ion (Li-ion)
- Seating capacity: Five
- Fuel: Hydrogen and gasoline
- Hydrogen tank: 35 MPa high-pressure tank
History of Mazda's hydrogen vehicle development
1991: Developed first hydrogen rotary engine vehicle, HR-X
1992: Conducted test drive of golf cart equipped with fuel cell
1993: Developed second hydrogen rotary engine vehicle, HR-X2
Developed MX-5 test vehicle equipped with hydrogen rotary engine
1995: Conducted Japan's first public road tests of a hydrogen rotary engine vehicle, Capella Cargo.
1997: Developed Demio FC-EV
2001: Developed Premacy FC-EV, conducted first public road test in Japan
2003: Announced RX-8 hydrogen rotary engine development
2004: Received MLIT approval for public road testing of RX-8 Hydrogen RE
2006: Started commercial leasing of RX-8 Hydrogen RE in Japan (eight models have been delivered to date)
2007: Signed agreement to provide RX-8 Hydrogen REs to Hynor, a Norwegian national project
2008: Commenced public road tests in Norway with RX-8 Hydrogen RE validation vehicle
2009: Commenced commercial leasing of Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid in Japan
For more information on Mazda's hydrogen rotary engine vehicles, please visit:
http://www.mazda.com/mazdaspirit/env/
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris M 11:49AM (3/25/2009)
Series hybrid! Makes me wonder if it comes with a plug, and how much of that 124 mile range comes from plugging in. A Wankel rotary engine is less efficient than a piston IC engine, but being lightweight and compact makes it ideal for a rarely used "range extender" on a plug-in hybrid.
Hybridization alone will not double the driving range, typical non-plug hybrids improve the mileage about 30% to 40%, not 100%. Mazda is probably using a larger H2 tank at a higher pressure, but, as expected, the H2 driving range is still rather short. Good thing it can also run further on much cheaper gasoline.
I doubt these will go on the market, the cost of the H2 storage and H2 fuel is still too high, but it will pave the way for a Mazda plug-in hybrid to compete with the GM Volt. I suspect that the real reason for this car is to get government grants using the "Hydrogen" buzzword, then use the battery and electrical knowledge learned from this research project to market a practical plug-in car.
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gorr 12:50PM (3/25/2009)
This is the best green car i know of. Zero pollution is possible because it use water as a feedstock for hydrogen and it return to water after combustion. The perfect fuel that can be use and re-use endlessly. That's why the death proposers oppose that to the utmost, it's because it don't cause the end of the biosphere and criminals always propose death to everyone after commiting crimes against humanity, It's their way of confessing past crimes.
They use 'science' to propose to you that there is not unlimited energy in water which is false and they argue with silly things as thermodynamics laws. Their religion is science and innevitable death. It's just plain negativity and general pain for everyone like al gore , exxon, usa scientists, epa, afs-trinity, doa, shell, british goverment, canadian goverment, france goverment, u.s.a goverment, japanese goverment, congo goverment, russia goverment, india goverment, chinese goverment, united nation, wall street union traders, world banks, malaysia goverment, popular mechanics, toyota, gm, ford, chrsler, honda and mazda too because they can have installed a water electrolyser in this car instead of sending you to an innexisting hydrogen refueling station.
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Chris M 2:21PM (3/25/2009)
No, Gorr, it runs on Hydrogen or Gasoline, not water. It doesn't have an "onboard electrolyzer", as the Mazda engineers have already determined that won't work as the sole fuel source. The H2 fuel is made elsewhere, probably from natural gas, is compressed, then pumped aboard at high pressure.
But don't worry about it. It isn't for sale, and thanks to the expensive high pressure carbon fiber tank, you couldn't afford it, anyway.
jharlan 1:08PM (3/25/2009)
Gorr:
You get weirder every day.
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