Jaguar Land Rover is developing a prototype hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) based on the new Land Rover Defender, with testing scheduled to begin this year.
As governments attempt to reduce emissions and boost urban air quality, companies such as JLR are having to adapt to the new reality.
Earlier this year, the firm announced its Jaguar brand would go all-electric from the year 2025. The business also said its Land Rover segment would roll out six “pure electric variants” over the next five years.
Read more: Jaguar Land Rover to go all-electric by 2025
The FCEV concept is part of Jaguar Land Rover’s aim to achieve zero tailpipe emissions by 2036, and net-zero carbon emissions across its supply chain, products and operations by 2039, in line with the Reimagine strategy announced last month.
JLR said that FCEVs are complimentary to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) on the journey to net-zero vehicle emissions. Hydrogen-powered FCEVs provide high energy density and rapid refuelling, and minimal loss of range in low temperatures, making the technology suited for larger, longer-range vehicles, or those operated in hot or cold environments.
Since 2018, the global number of FCEVs on the road has nearly doubled while hydrogen refuelling stations have increased by more than 20%. By 2030, forecasts predict hydrogen-powered FCEV deployment could top 10 million with 10,000 refuelling stations worldwide.
Jaguar Land Rover’s advanced engineering project, known as Project Zeus, is part-funded by the UK government-backed Advanced Propulsion Centre and will allow engineers to understand how a hydrogen powertrain can be optimised to deliver the performance and capability expected by its customers: from range to refuelling, and towing to off-road ability.
The zero-tailpipe emission prototype New Defender FCEV will begin testing towards the end of 2021 in the UK to verify key attributes such as off-road capability and fuel consumption.
Read more: The possibilities of hydrogen fuel cells
To deliver Project Zeus, Jaguar Land Rover has teamed up with world-class R&D partners, including Delta Motorsport, AVL, Marelli Automotive Systems and the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) to research, develop and create the prototype FCEV.
"We know hydrogen has a role to play in the future powertrain mix across the whole transport industry, and alongside battery electric vehicles, it offers another zero tailpipe emission solution for the specific capabilities and requirements of Jaguar Land Rover's world-class line-up of vehicles," Ralph Clague, head of hydrogen and fuel cells, Jaguar Land Rover, said in a statement.
Jaguar Land Rover is not the only automotive company to look at hydrogen-powered vehicles. Other manufacturers that are researching the hydrogen fuel cell market include Toyota and Honda.
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