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The cars

A number of cars running on hydrogen will also be used as part of the HyMove project in 2011. The first car to be involved in the project is a Subaru Impreza, which has been converted by HAN Automotive. It does not have a fuel cell but an internal combustion engine running on hydrogen. The use of hydrogen in an internal combustion engine does require some technical modifications. These include installing a hydrogen tank, a pipework system for the hydrogen, special injectors, a new engine management system and a special safety system. The Subaru is owned by Hans van der Woude, who will be driving it in rallies.

Which other cars can be used in the project is being investigated at the moment. The Toyata Prius with a fuel cell, which is also being used in a hydrogen project in Norway, was originally considered. The costs were too high, however, and the approval for use on the road in the Netherlands was problematical. Most car manufacturers are fully engaged in developing hydrogen-powered cars, but these are not yet on sale in large numbers. They are displayed at the well-known car shows, but in general are used primarily for tests and demonstrations.

The furthest advanced are probably Mercedes, Honda and Mazda. Honda has put the FCX Clarity into production. It is equipped with a fuel cell that provides 100 kW of power, and its range is 430 kilometres. The company will be building several hundred cars for the American and Japanese markets in the next few years. The first examples have already been delivered. Mazda has started production of the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid and the RX-8 Hydrogen RE. A number of these cars are already driving in Norway and Japan.
Mercedes has also started the series production of hydrogen-powered cars. This involves 200 examples of the B-Class, equipped with a fuel cell and an electric motor rated at 100 kW. The range of this car is 400 kilometres.

The HAN is currently busy converting a Fiat Doblo, which is also a candidate for the HyMove project.