Hydrogen-Powered VW Tiguan

Volkswagen recently provided Green Car an opportunity to get up close and personal with its latest fuel cell powered testbed, the Tiguan HyMotion Fuel Cell Concept. After showing the car at the Shanghai Motor Show and Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Shanghai, this North American debut comes as part of a push for alternative fuel vehicles that includes diesel models newly certified for use in all 50 states. While VW is making no secret of its push to lead the way with very high fuel efficiency clean diesel models, it also continues to explore other alternatives including electric, hybrid, natural gas, advanced gasoline, and hydrogen vehicles.

At present there are only two Tiguan HyMotion vehicles in the world, and unlike competitors GM and Honda, VW has not announced plans to launch a demonstration fuel cell fleet in the U.S. John Tillman, head of VW's advanced powertrains in the U.S., says the company is waiting for advances in durability and infrastructure to happen before it starts putting its fuel cell vehicles in the hands of real-world drivers, a process that could potentially take seven to 10 years.

In the meantime, the technology is improving and the Tiguan HyMotion is the most advanced concept yet from this German automaker. The concept is based on VW's small SUV that just recently went on sale in the U.S. market. It builds upon the fuel cell technology used in the Touran HyMotion, which was based on a European-only VW model. The fuel cell system is integrated in the engine compartment and, when combined with an electric motor driving the front wheels, puts out 134 horsepower and 175 lbs-ft of torque. That's enough to propel the approximately 4,100-pound vehicle from zero to 60 mph in 14 seconds and on to a top speed of 93 mph.

One of the big advances in the Tiguan HyMotion involves energy storage. The hydrogen storage tanks, made of a carbon-fiber Kevlar composite, store 3.2 kilograms of gaseous hydrogen at 10,000 psi. That is an improvement over the Touran HyMotion's 1.9 kg storage capacity at 5,000 psi, and extends driving range to about 160 miles over the previous generation's 100 miles. A further improvement is a switch to more energy-dense lithium-ion batteries from nickel-metal-hydride counterparts. The batteries store regenerative braking energy and can be charged by the fuel cell. According to VW, battery testing from this application will directly inform the safety research that could help put lithium-ion-equipped VW hybrid vehicles on the road.