The revolutionary system that has over 200 horsepower with zero emissions

Gasoline, hybrid or electric? The question that thousands of drivers ask themselves when buying their next car may have become old. New mobility continues to advance, this included New solutions to problems posed by both fossil fuels and battery-powered cars. The days of the incredible queues witnessed over Easter in various parts of Spain to recharge dozens of Tesla cars may be numbered.

One proposal with the greatest potential to solve these problems is hydrogen fuel cell cars, an intermediate solution that is easier to manufacture Vehicles that are lighter, faster to charge and more autonomous One of those electric cars.

At the moment, there are only two models equipped with this technology available in Spain, the Hyundai Nexo and the Toyota Murai, both with prices starting at €70,000, but that may be about to change. British company Intelligent Energy has just submitted its offer New hydrogen fuel cell system“Smaller and stronger than any other solution on the passenger car market,” they claim press release.

The system, called IE-DRIVE, could be a commercially viable solution for both vehicle manufacturers and end users. According to the calculations proposed by the engineers of the British company, their proposal will come true At an expected cost of around €116 per kilowatt of energy at the end of this decade. Therefore, their price will be similar to internal combustion engines, plus they produce no emissions and are made from recycled and recyclable materials.

Maximum efficiency

This technology, already used in transportation such as trains or urban bus fleets, relies on the great efficiency of hydrogen fuel cells. There are several different types, but their function is the same: Converting chemical energy into electrical energy Through the resulting electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. The only byproducts resulting from this process are water and heat, so the vehicles you use do not emit gases that are harmful to the environment or health.

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Its basic components are simple: two plates, which act as a negative anode and a positive cathode, providing electrical and thermal properties and shutting off the gas during operation. Thanks to Gas Diffusion Layers (GDL), the gas is distributed while water is circulated inside the fuel cell. finally, An array of membrane electrodes is what helps produce the necessary reaction To separate electrons and generate electricity.

Building these batteries has many advantages. First of all, they are Modular and scalable systemsWhich allows it to be expanded to reach the required strength. It is also twice as efficient as an internal combustion engine, and requires fewer steps to convert fuel into electricity. Another of its strengths is its reliability, as it has far fewer moving parts than a combustion engine and, like electric motors, is almost noiseless.

To take advantage of all these advantages, Intelligent Energy has been developing patented hydrogen fuel cell technology since 2019. Supported by the British Government through the Advanced Payment Centre (ABC). Companies such as Changan R&D Center and Lyra Electronics also cooperated in the project called ESTHER with an investment of about 30 million euros.

The result was presented a few days ago at Intelligent Energy's headquarters in Loughborough, a central city in England. There it was implemented Demo of the latest generation of IE-DRIVEintegrated into the SUV provided by Changan.

Big power, small size

In its current configuration, this solution offers significant advantages over other technologies already available on the market. The main thing is that it has Total electrical power is 157 kW (equivalent to more than 200 horsepower), “a figure higher than any other application currently available in the passenger car sector,” according to the company.

The other big advantage is its small size. To achieve this, Smart Energy engineers developed and manufactured Up to 30% smaller heat exchanger than its competitors with equal net power. This translates to 0.34 square meters, which does not prevent it from reaching a cruising speed of 130 km/h in extreme temperatures and 90 km/h when climbing a long, steep hill.

The other great advantage of this ingredient is that The car is easy to assemble and design. Other hydrogen fuel cell cars have had to raise the height of the hood, which could impair the driver's vision.

And with the IE-DRIVE's direct water injection system, they've achieved that too Reduce the number of parts and bill of materials necessary to build it. In fact, it does not require a humidifier or associated parts, which increases the complexity of this type of solution and requires frequent maintenance.

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What the British company insists most on, in addition to these competitive advantages, is that it is A turnkey solution for car manufacturers with high commercial viability. According to their calculations, a passenger car equipped with IE-DRIVE with a power of 157 kW could cost about 18,200 euros before 2030, which is much lower than an electric car with similar power.

“This clean technology represents the future, ever since It is expected that 25% of passenger cars will have hydrogen fuel cell engines“I am proud that Intelligent Energy, as an independent and private company, has developed a revolutionary solution that can open the market to passenger vehicle manufacturers who need to integrate a more robust system into their vehicles,” said David Woolhouse, CEO of Intelligent Energy.