Hydrogen

A group of Australian automotive executives is working on a plan to assemble hydrogen vehicles locally – with key components to be sourced from Europe and the Americas. Start-up manufacturer H2X Australia has bold plans to begin assembling hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for the commercial industry and mining sectors, before potentially moving on to taxis, vans and passenger cars. If successful, the proposal is to assemble the vehicles in Port Kembla, south of Sydney.

Nikola Motors has revealed its hydrogen and battery-powered rival to the Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1-T, with up to 675kW and 965km of range. There's no battery magic going on to extract that incredible range. Unlike the battery-only R1-T and Cybertruck, the Badger blends a lithium-ion battery pack with a hydrogen fuel cell. Battery-only range is a claimed 483km, while the 120kW fuel-cell adds another 483km.

Toyota Australia (TMCA) is engaged in trials with the first-generation hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV) Mirai, and with that in mind is “most certainly looking” at launching the more aesthetic second-gen model. Revealed publicly for the first time as a near-road-ready ‘concept’ in Tokyo last week, the new five-metre-long Mirai is a huge step-change over its high-tech, but frumpy, predecessor.

South Korea is seemingly set to require commercial vehicles in the country – including trucks and construction equipment – to use hydrogen fuel-cell drivetrains by 2035. The move is designed to counter “serious fine dust problems” in the country not helped by diesel emissions, according to The Korea Herald. The plan was apparently released by Transport Minister-nominee Choi Jeong-ho and Yoon Kwan-seok of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.

Mercedes-Benz has put the GLC F-Cell, a plug-in fuel-cell hybrid vehicle, into production, delivering the first examples to a number of German hydrogen agencies. Unlike regular plug-in hybrid vehicles, there's no internal-combustion engine backing the 13.5kWh battery pack and 50km all-electric range. Instead, the F-Cell relies on a hydrogen fuel-cell good for around 430km.