Copenhagen Stays 'On Track' for Green Fleet by 2015 with Test of Hyundai FCEVs

An agreement to test hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in Copenhagen will advance the city’s zero-carbon goals, even as it promotes the Hyundai Motor Company’s efforts to tap into the fast-growing market for green cars in Europe.

The pact was sealed after two prototypes of the Hyundai ix35 FCEV, the Korean automaker’s first FCEV, were brought in from its German Research and Development Center and driven 211 miles cross-country in Denmark on a single refueling— from the City of Holstebro (in western Denmark) to the front of the City Hall in Copenhagen.

 The new cars, which can hit a top speed of 100 mph and can cover a 0 to 62 mph sprint in 12.8 seconds, were there for a much publicized test-drive by the mayors of the capitals of four Scandinavian nations, including the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Frank Jensen; Mayor Fabien Stang of Oslo, Norway; Mayor Jón Gnarr Kristinsson of Reykjavík, Iceland; and Mayor Sten Nordin of Stockholm, Sweden.

Copenhagen— a pacesetter when it comes to the environment—immediately demonstrated tangible interest in adopting the cars.  On the day of the test drive, May 12, the Lord Mayor signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on FCEVs and related infrastructure with Hyundai Motor Co.; H2 Logic ,a developer of hydrogen fueling stations, based in Herning, Denmark; and Hydrogen Link, a Ringkøbing , Denmark-based association working to advance the use of electricity for transportation.

The agreement is compatible with the city’s ambitious plans to become the world's first CO₂-neutral capital by 2025. This year, Copenhagen already has mandated a halt on the purchase of any internal combustion vehicles for its municipal fleets. By 2015,Copenhagen intends to replace 85 percent of its official vehicles with green cars.

 “Today’s test drive of our eco-friendly vehicles in Copenhagen is all the more meaningful since the City of Copenhagen is dedicated to achieving zero emissions in transportation,” said Vice Chairman Woong-Chul Yang, head of Hyundai’s R&D Center. “The MOU … will lay the foundation to commercialize fuel cell electric Vehicles in Europe.”

Copenhagen has repeatedly been recognized as one of the cities with the best quality of life. It is also considered one of the world's most environmentally friendly cities. The water in the city’s inner harbor is so clean that people can swim in it, and 36 percent of all citizens commute to work by bicycle.

One of the most-touted advantages of the ix35 is, unlike many of the hybrid and ‘green’ cars currently on the market, hydrogen fuel can offer the promise of zero emission technology; its only byproduct is water vapor. Current fossil-fuel burning vehicles emit all sorts of pollutants such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, ozone and microscopic particulate matter. Hybrids and other green cars address these issues to a large extent, but only hydrogen cars hold the promise of zero emission of pollutants.  

In addition, while battery powered electric cars take hours to recharge, fuel-cell cars run on hydrogen, and filling the tank takes the same time it would require to fill a car with gasoline. What’s more, the driving range of a FCEV is the same as that of a gasoline car—a comfortable 400 miles, or 30 miles per pound of hydrogen.

The Hyundai ix35 FCEV will have some strong competition on the global market, however. The Leaf — short for Leading Environmentally-friendly Affordable Family—was launched in Japan by Nissan at the end of 2010 and is currently participating as part of their participation in Switch EV, a major electric vehicle test drive in North East England.

The current crop of HCEVs also includes: the Mitsubishi-I-iMEV, the Smart fortwo electric drive, the Peugot iON, the Tata Vista, the Citroen CZero, the Chevrolet Volt , and the Vauxhall Ampera.

The fuel cell car market is now in the ramp-up phase to commercialization, anticipated by automakers to happen around 2015. According to a new report from Boulder, Colorado-based  Pike Research, commercial sales of FCVs will reach the key milestone of 1 million vehicles by 2020, with a cumulative 1.2 million vehicles sold by the end of that year

As for the Hyundai x35 hydrogen FCEV (also known as the Hyundai Tucson ix Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle), it is expected to roll out to some private customers in 2012, with mass-production to begin in 2015. For more information, see the site.