Germany opens world-first FCV car sharing platform
Hydrogen producer, Linde, has launched BeeZero; the world's first hydrogen-powered car sharing service in Germany, with a fleet of 50 Hyundai Tucson fuel cell vehicles (FCV). Drivers will be able to reserve a car online or through a smartphone app, and vehicles will be available in various zones in and around Munich. Linde is hoping to gain insight into how FCVs function in a fleet. An executive board member of the Linde Group, Dr. Christian Brunch, explains: “We expect to gain valuable information from day-to-day fleet operations which we will use to further develop our hydrogen technologies and to help expand the hydrogen infrastructure. BeeZero synergises two mobility trends that are gaining a lot of ground at the moment — carsharing and zero emissions — and will bring the benefits of fuel cell technology to a wider group of potential users.”

Using hydrogen in fuel cells as the primary fuel for personal vehicles results in more emissions than an off-the-shelf Toyota Prius, paying a premium price for the vehicle, and struggling to find a fueling station (there are only 14 in the entire US today). And if you can find one (that’s open and functioning), you’ll pay a premium for the fuel. Granted, the cost of vehicles, distribution of the fueling stations, and cost of the fuel would all improve if fuel cell electric vehicles went mainstream.

Having said all that, while fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) might not be practical for consumers to own, they could mitigate some of the negative aspects related to owning a fuel cell electric vehicle if they were utilized in a carsharing fleet. The fleet manager would be able to procure (or produce) hydrogen in a central location based on the distribution and usage profile of the fleet while providing most of the benefits of a FCEV to the consumer.

A new announcement from Hyundai unpacks a new carsharing program being implemented by the Linde Group in Munich which utilizes 50 of the Hyundai ix35 FCEV as the primary fleet vehicle. The program kicks off this summer and will be the first carsharing program in the world to utilize 100% FCEVs.

The Hyundai ix35 is the world’s first production-volume FCEV — though, it’s unclear from the press release what markets Hyundai is expecting to sell the mass-produced FCEV in. After the struggles Toyota has been through with the Mirai in the US — or, more accurately, in the only US market that could be considered almost viable (Southern California) — it is surprising to see Hyundai moving forward with full-scale production with this little FCEV … though, Hyundai also conveniently leaves out what those production volumes actually are.

The Linde Group is excited about the launch and is specifically looking for insights into the nuances of how FCEVs function in a fleet. Dr Christian Brunch, a member of the Executive Board of the Linde Group, unpacks their expectation:

“We expect to gain valuable information from day-to-day fleet operations which we will use to further develop our hydrogen technologies and to help expand the hydrogen infrastructure. BeeZero synergises two mobility trends that are gaining a lot of ground at the moment — carsharing and zero emissions — and will bring the benefits of fuel cell technology to a wider group of potential users.”

While the ix35 looks a lot like a conventional compact utility vehicle, it boasts an impressive 600 kilometers / 372 miles per (hydrogen) tank. That range speaks to one of the key benefits of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as compared to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) — increased density … though, it is deceiving. FCEVs have to store quite a significant amount of hydrogen onboard, which is not very dense — especially relative to batteries. However, storing hydrogen is cheaper than extra batteries and weighs less.

The second key consumer benefit of FCEVs vs BEVs is refueling time. Filling up in a FCEV is faster than recharging a BEV, taking 3–5 minutes vs several hours for most BEVs

Interestingly, BeeZero is also looking at emissions from hydrogen production, claiming a completely carbon-neutral fuel source:

“BeeZero is using ‘Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell’ cars. The only emission FCVs (fuel-cell vehicles) produce is water. Water so clean you could drink it. Combine that with the fact that the hydrogen fuel is sourced from green production methods – which use sustainable resources – and you get sustainable operation. That is our vision for the future of mobility.”

This push towards hydrogen-powered mobility is not a standalone effort from a newcomer upstart, but rather, one cog in The Linde Group’s hydrogen masterplan to build a robust hydrogen infrastructure throughout the world. It feels a bit evil genius to me, but maybe I have just been watching too many movies with my kids….

Linde Group Hydrogen Production:

Linde Group Hydrogen Consumption:

All images via Hyundai

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