Hyundai ix35 Hydrogen FCEV helps kick off EcoIslands Global Summit

The Hyundai ix35 Hydrogen Fuel Cell has helped kick off the EcoIslands Summit on the Isle of Wight promoting renewable energy for Islands.

Maybe, now more and more car makers and suppliers are starting to lose interest in BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles), we can look properly to future prospects for an energy source for powering the world’s cars? And none, short of cold fusion becoming a reality, offers more promise than Hydrogen, the most plentiful element in the universe.

The EcoIslands Global Summit on the Isle of Wight is promoting all things ‘Green’, and even though some of their stuff is more wish-list than reality they have a sensible aim of making Islands self-sufficient in power through Tidal Energy, energy from waste, Geothermal energy and hydrogen.

The Hydrogen part is perhaps most interesting, as it’s the element of the IoW’s plans that could lead to much of the Island’s transport running on hydrogen.

EcoIslands is working with ITM Power to provide hydrogen refuelling for the IoW in a way that could actually be rolled out anywhere there’s a demand; not just on IoW.

ITM Power have produced hydrogen power units that can be used at home and bigger units for public and fleet use. The units produce hydrogen from water using electricity and store it for fuel. The smaller units can be used at home – where they could also power the home – and larger units can be rolled in to place as a regular container-sized units to deliver hydrogen where there’s a demand – an almost instant hydrogen refuelling system.

Hyundai managed to get in on the EcoIslands summit with a nice plug for their hydrogen-powered ix35 FCEV, enlisting Quentin Wilson to drive from the Midlands to the Isle of White in the ix35 FCEV (neatly demonstrating a range comparable to an ICE car), picking keynote speaker John Hayes, Minister of State for Energy, up en-route.

A nice bit of PR for Hyundai, the Isle of Wight, EcoIsland and ITM Power’s very clever hydrogen energy systems.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcS_ZvDLP7c

By Cars UK