The year 2001 was a banner year for hydrogen cars as 22 prototypes
were rolled out before the public. Toyota had three FCHV models
with Ford, GM, DaimlerChrysler and Honda also putting out multiple
vehicles.
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The 2001 Mitsubishi
Space Liner was a futuristic looking car using 75 kw fuel cell
and drive-by-wire technology. The body of the 4-seater Mitsubishi
Space Liner was made of carbon fiber and glass and this stress-reducing
vehicle even has acceleration and brakes incorporated into the
steering wheel. |
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The 2001 GM HydroGen3 was a collaborative
effort between General Motors and Opel. The Hydrogen3 was based
upon the Opel Zafira MPV design. First unveiled at the IAA Motor
Show in Frankfurt, Germany, the GM HydroGen3 minivan benefited
from increased fuel cell performance including performance peaks
over the HydroGen1 fuel cell vehicle. |
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The 2001 Buick GL8 XEA1 or Phoenix
was developed as a collaboration between GM and Shanghai Automotive
Industry Corporation. The GM - Shanghai Phoenix is a hybrid
vehicle that also uses a 35 kw fuel cell and compressed hydrogen
gas for power. The GM Phoenix was unveiled at the Pan Asia Automotive
Technology Center in China. |
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The 2001 Lada Niva (Lada VAZ-2131
Niva) is a 4wd Russian vehicle that was developed in collaboration
with the Uralski Electrochemical Combine and the Rocket and
Space Corporation. The Lada Niva contains an Antel VAZ-2131
fuel cell and used compressed hydrogen gas. |
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The 2001 DaimlerChrysler Natrium
was based upon the Town & Country minivan. The DaimlerChrysler
Natrium was unique for its time in that it didn't use either
compressed or gaseous hydrogen, but rather used sodium borohydride
(NaBH4), a chemical compound which released hydrogen-on-demand,
that then ran through a fuel cell to power the vehicle. The
Natrium had a range of over 300 miles with a top speed of around
78 mph. |
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The 2001 Daihatsu Move FCV-K-2 was
the first fuel cell prototype minicar approved for use on public
roads by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The Daihatsu Move FCV-K-2 was a hybrid vehicle developed jointly
by Daihatsu and Toyota (who supplied the 30kw fuel cell stack)
and ran on compressed hydrogen with a range of about 72 miles. |
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The 2001 New Jersey Genesis was built
using a Mercury Sable donated by Ford and a Millennium Cell
sodium borohydride (NaBH4) hydrogen generation system. The creation
of the New Jersey Genesis was underwritten by the New Jersey
Department of Transportation. In the New Jersey Genesis, hydrogen
is created on demand by chemical reaction and run through a
fuel cell for power. Civil engineer Mike Strizki was heavily
involved in the project and still maintains the Genesis at his
house, the first hydrogen-solar home in New Jersey. |
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The 2001 Ford Think Focus FCV was
a hybrid fuel cell vehicle that was a result between a collaboration
of Ford and Think! The Ford Think Focus FCV used a Ballard 75kw
fuel cell stack and 80kw NiMH battery pack. The Ford Think FCV
is a bit docile by today's standard achieving a top end speed
of only 80 mph. |
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The 2001 Toyota FCHV-5 was unveiled
in October of that year as the company's first CHF (Clean Hydrogen
Fuel) vehicle. CHF is a liquid fuel that can be derived from
crude oil, coal or natural gas, has a clean sulfur content and
can be dispensed from current gasoline pumps. The Toyota FCHV-5
is a hybrid SUV that carried on onboard CHF transformer to extract
the hydrogen from the liquid fuel and run it through a fuel
cell to power the vehicle. |
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The 2001 Honda FCX-V4 one ups the
FCX-V3 in power, range, maximum speed and acceleration. The
Honda FCX-V4 is a four-seater that uses a Ballard 78kw fuel
cell stack, 60kw electric motor and has a top range of 180 miles.
The Honda FCX-V4 also includes improved safety features including
crumple zones and cooling performance. |
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The 2001 Hydrogen Cobra was developed
by the University of California, Riverside who modified a Carroll
Shelby roadster to run on hydrogen gas. The Hydrogen Cobra was
then taken to the salt flats to run in the October Bonneville
World Finals. The purpose of running at Bonneville was to prove
that hydrogen gas was not anymore dangerous that any other type
of fuel. The Hydrogen Cobra turned in a respectable speed of
108.16 mph. |
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The 2001 Chevy S-10 Pickup Truck
was the world's first drivable vehicle capable of extracting
hydrogen from gasoline and using the H2 gas to power the vehicle.
The General Motors Chevy S-10 fuel cell vehicle used an onboard
transformer to crack the hydrogen from the gasoline and send
it through a 25 kw fuel cell stack, achieving 40 mpg in fuel
economy. |
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The 2001 Ford P2000 is an internal
combustion vehicle that runs on hydrogen (H2ICE). The Ford P2000
uses a modified Zetec 2.0-liter engine with 30-percent improvement
in vehicle efficiency over its gasoline counterpart. While not
as clean as a fuel cell vehicle, according to Ford it would
take over 300 P2000 automobiles to emit the same CO2 as one
gasoline-powered car. |
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The 2001 DaimlerChrysler Mercedes-Benz
Sprinter van was a fuel cell vehicle built in collaboration
with German company, Hermes Versand Service. The Mercedes-Benz
Sprinter used a 75 kw PEM fuel cell coupled with a 55 kw electric
motor with a range of 94 miles and top speed of 75 mph. |
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The 2001 Intergalatic
Hydrogen H2TOY Tacoma used a modified ICE engine in a 1999 Toyota
Tacoma 4X4 Truck and compressed hydrogen gas. Developed by Tai
Robinson, the Intergalatic Hydrogen H2TOY Tacoma set a record
in 2003 for coast to coast driving with hydrogen on the Drive
to Survive exhibition spearheaded by Dennis Weaver. |
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The 2001 Virginia Tech
University ZEburban is a Chevy Suburban modified by faculty
and students to compete in the 2001 Future Truck Competition.
The Virginia Tech ZEburban used an 80 kw Honeywell PEM fuel
cell donated by the U. S. Department of Energy for the competition. |
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The 2001 ESORO HyCar was unveiled
at the Fuel Cell Home Conference in Lucerne, Switzerland in
July of that year. The ESORO HyCar is a hybrid uses a PEM fuel
cell, 35 kw motor, 23 kWh NaNiCl and compressed hydrogen to
power the vehicle. With a range of approximately 200 miles,
the ESORO HyCar also has a top speed of 72 mph. |
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The 2001 BMW Mini Hydrogen car was
first displayed at the Frankfurt Motor Show that same year.
The BMW Mini Hydrogen is a bifuel vehicle (gasoline or liquid
hydrogen) that uses an internal combustion (ICE) engine to power
the vehicle. BMW produced the liquid hydrogen for the Mini Hydrogen
vehicle by using solar power to show that this type of fuel
can be produced by renewable methods. |
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The Toyota FCHV-4 is a hybrid fuel
cell vehicle based upon the design of the Highlander SUV. With
a range of 155 miles and top speed of 95 mph, the Toyota FCHV-4
uses a Toyota built fuel cell stack, NiMH batteries and carries
four compressed hydrogen storage tanks at 3,600 psi. |
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The 2001 Peugeot Fuel Cell Cab uses
either sodium borohydride (NaBH4) to create hydrogen-on-demand
to power the vehicle or compressed hydrogen gas. The Peugeot
Fuel Cell Cab is a hybrid vehicle using primarily battery and
electric power to propel the vehicle and using the onboard fuel
cell to supply supplementary and auxiliary power as needed. |
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The 2001 BMW 745h is a dual fuel
luxury automobile able to run off either gasoline or liquid
hydrogen. The BMW 745h does however have a small PEM fuel cell
that is separate from the ICE that powers auxiliary devices
like air conditioning. Rated at 184 hp and with a top speed
of 133 mph, the BMW 745h uses a 4.4-liter V8 and has a range
of around 190 miles. |
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The 2001 Toyota FCHV-3 is based upon
the Kluger V Highlander SUV and is a hybrid electric fuel cell
vehicle. The Toyota FCHV-3 is powered by a 90 kw fuel cell stack
and uses regenerative breaking to recharge the NiMH battery
pack. Hydrogen is stored in metal hydride containers in the
back of the vehicle. |
