Federal minister backs hydrogen over battery EVs

As the roll-out of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles in Australia ramps up, federal science and industry minister Ian Macfarlane has declared hydrogen to be Australia’s automotive transport “fuel of the future” rather than battery-electric vehicles.

Macfarlane was speaking at a function in Sydney at Hyundai’s Macquarie Park headquarters yesterday, when Australia’s first hydrogen refuelling station was opened and he took a brief spin in an ix35 Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV).

In his speech at the event, Macfarlane said Australia was facing a “big challenge … in terms of the environment”.

“Some people say that solution lies in electric cars. I don’t drive an electric car. Some people say we will have enough fossil fuel to last us for centuries. I don’t agree with that either.

“The reality is if you drive an electric car the chances are it’s being fuelled by fossil fuel-generated power; out of sight and perhaps out of mind but it’s not the solution.

“The ultimate solution surely is something that in the full cycle starts with water and ends with water and that to me is what this vehicle represents today; the next generation of environmentally friendly vehicles."

Macfarlane yesterday made no commitment to government assistance for the establishment of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. Nor does the government provide any tax cuts or incentives for the purchase of green vehicles, apart from a luxury car tax discount for vehicles that average less than 7.0L/100km.

The ix35 FCEV converts hydrogen to electricity, burns no fuel and emits nothing but water vapour from its exhaust. The range and refuelling time is similar to that of a normal petrol-powered car. Hyundai Australia, which has brought the ix35 FCEV to Australia and built the refueller to initiate debate about Australia’s fuelling future, admits widespread hydrogen use could be 20 years away.

“They (the federal government) have no plans,” Hyundai Australia Chief Operating Officer John Elsworth told motoring.com.au. “That’s what this is about, it’s about stimulating a discussion and getting them to create a policy because there isn’t a policy.”

Meanwhile, orthodox hybrids have been on sale in Australia for years, while more and more plug-ins are being launched in both all-electric (BEV) and hybrid (PHEV) form. High-profile arrivals include the Audi A3 e-tron, which is due here around June or July of this year, BMW's i3 BEV and i8 PHEV pair, and, of course, Porsche's Panamera S e-Hybrid and Cayenne counterpart. Mercedes-Benz plans to launch three plug-in hybrids before the end of this year.

Nissan and Mitsubishi have been BEV pioneers in Australia with the LEAF and i-MiEV respectively.

But Macfarlane said battery electric vehicles were a “transitioning technology”.

“In the end the long-term future has got to be in a fuel cell vehicle that is zero-emissions,” he said. “There is no doubt that electric and hybrid technology is a transitioning technology, but in terms of where we are going long-term, you need a vehicle that is flexible and gives you the range; the hydrogen vehicle is the only one that satisfies those criteria.

“Electric vehicles will play a role, but hydrogen certainly strikes me as the fuel of the future.”

Mercedes-Benz Australia-Pacific Senior Manager of Public Relations, Product and Corporate Communications, David McCarthy, said the government should invest some of the $480 million it generates from the luxury car tax annually to support the creation of a hydrogen refuelling network.

Mercedes-Benz has its own hydrogen fuel cell program and two B-Class F-Cells toured Australia as part of a global drive in 2011.

“If hydrogen is the fuel of the future, what is the government going to do to support the implementation of that infrastructure?” McCarthy asked. “How about the government uses some of that $480 million per year to assist the industry to do it [create an infrastructure] and cut emissions.”

BMW Australia General Manager Corporate Communications Lenore Fletcher told motoring.com.au that most purchasers of BMW plug-ins paid for green energy power-generation solutions. She called for the government to establish a low-emission vehicle strategy.

“There has not been one and I think we need to see that,” she said. “There are many formats this can take. It does not need to be a high-cost project for the government.”