|
Resources
|
|
Towards the end of 2010, Kia was one of seven manufacturers to
sign an agreement to make hydrogen fuel-cell (FCEV) vehicles
commercially available by the middle of this decade. The car
that is regarded as a panacea for a zero-emissions future – one
that can make its own electricity on the move, cover long
distances between refuelling and emit no CO2 – is
coming. |
|
|
|
Hydrogen cars are just one strand in Kia’s
alternative-fuel strategy, however. Hybrids are already in production
for some markets, and will soon appear in others. Additional hybrids are
currently under development. Battery-electric vehicles are on the way,
too. Alternative-fuel vehicles
are nothing new to Kia. Work on them has been going on for more than 20
years. Kia produced its first electric vehicle (EV) – based on the Besta
van – as long ago as 1986, and an electric version of the Sportage in
1999. |
Electric vehicles are best suited to
short journeys mainly in towns, where their limited range is not an
issue and their charging infrastructure is most likely to be found. The
three-seater Pop concept from the 2010 Paris Motor Show gives clues to
the company’s thinking.
Hybrids, which have a small electric
motor for limited low-speed urban journeys and a fossil-fuel engine for
highway driving, are an interim solution on the way to the long-distance
zero-emissions car, and here, too, Kia is well advanced. As long ago as
2005 the company put a pilot fleet of Rio hybrids on trial to test the
technology.
At the 2010 Los Angeles International
Auto Show, Kia revealed a petrol-electric hybrid version of the new
Optima saloon, which is now on sale in both the USA and Korea. It has a
2.4-litre petrol engine and a 30kW electric motor driving through a
hybrid-specific six-speed automatic gearbox. Uniquely among current
hybrids, it has a lithium-ion polymer battery which is 30% lighter than
the nickel-metal hydride systems in rivals, but has a higher energy
density. It can accelerate to more than 60mph on battery power alone.
In Korea, an unusual hybrid system
running on a mixture of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and battery power has
been available for in the Forte saloon, a car similar to the European
cee’d hatchback.
It is powered by a conventional
1.6-litre engine converted to run on LPG and a 15kW electric motor, and
though it is unable to run on electric power alone, this combination is
sufficient to bring CO2 emissions down to 94g/km. In May 2011
Kia announced plans to offer an LPG hybrid version of the new Picanto,
too.
However, Kia is putting its faith in
hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles as the answer to long-distance mobility with
zero tailpipe emissions. Fuel cells work by combining hydrogen and
oxygen in a complex metal box knows as a fuel stack. A chemical reaction
creates electricity, with pure water as the only waste by-product.
The trouble is, fuel stacks are
extremely expensive and in most countries there is currently no hydrogen
refueling infrastructure. Both problems are now being solved, however.
Fuel stacks are now becoming cheaper as development makes them smaller
and less dependent on precious metals, and enlightened countries like
Korea are starting to establish a hydrogen fuel station network.
Kia developed its first FCEV in 2003,
based on the Sportage, and has now advanced the technology close to the
production-ready stage in the Borrego, a large SUV. It can cover more
than 500 miles on a tank of hydrogen, and manages the equivalent of
54mpg.
Kia has not yet decided which model in
its range will be the first to go on sale with a fuel cell, but it has
committed to start building limited numbers of FCEVs and aims to have
them commercially available by 2015.
|
|
Register for our
free Newsletter
|
|
