VW Successfully Completes Long-Range Test on HY.POWER Fuel Cell

In the depths of winter, on the harrowing Simplon pass connecting Switzerland to Italy 6,578 feet above sea level, Volkswagen (VW) successfully completed long-range testing of its new HY.POWER fuel cell Bora (Jetta) prototype. 

The goal was to see whether VW's new HY.POWER technology could withstand strenuous demands at sub-zero temperatures, which are the major setbacks for cold-combustion hydrogen fuel cells. So far, so good. 

VW's HY.POWER is unique, a self-proclaimed low-cost hydrogen fuel cell with extra high performance "supercaps," or ultra capacitors, that can store a fuel-cell engine's electrical energy for use during strenuous driving, such as passing on steep hills.

HY.POWER's supercaps eliminate the need for cumbersome, heavy batteries to store energy. The prototype also does not utilize a reformer -- as conventional hydrogen power technology dictates. Instead, it carries on-board hydrogen to create the fuel cell, which then powers an electric traction motor. 

Also tested with great success on the same mountain pass was VW's Bora SunFuel model, a vehicle utilizing a new, ultra-clean (low-sulpher) synthetic diesel. Another innovation VW hopes to perpetuate. 

At the end of the day, this is pretty much great news for hydrogen fuel cell technology. VW's HY.POWER appears to be a new, more efficient and cost-effective method of "cold combustion."

The HY.POWER Bora may not be the fastest car in the world, with its top speed peaking at 70 mph, but it certainly shows that criticism of old are being addressed and rendered obsolete. 

Learn more about New Transportation on eBoom's Transportation Learning page.