Hydro hot wheels
Queensland ‘water-powered car’ finally a reality
AUSTRALIA’S first hydrogen ute will be launched on the Gold Coast later this year – 40 years after the thenQueensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen boasted the state would develop a “waterpowered car.”
Sydney-based H2X Global plans to build its Warregobranded utes, which come with an eye-watering sticker price of $200,000, on the Queensland tourist strip, retrofitting a Ford Ranger with hydrogen fuel cells. The privately owned company said it
has received 200 orders equal to $50m in the first four days of offering the vehicle for sale.
H2X Global vice-president Tony Blackie said the ute would be unveiled on the Gold Coast in November, with delivery of the vehicles slated for April 2022.
“We have received a lot of interest from tradies as well as the agricultural and mining sectors,” said Mr Blackie, adding the company was partnering with existing engineering firms for the retrofitting.
He said the advantages of hydrogen-fuelled cars were they did not require the lengthy recharging of electric
vehicles and their only byproduct was water.
The dream of hydrogenpowered cars has a long history in Queensland with Mr Bjelke-Petersen raising the idea of a “water-fuelled car”. At the time the idea was considered a publicity stunt.
The federal government last year flagged hydrogen as a priority low-emission technology under its $18bn Technology Investment Roadmap to lower the country’s carbon footprint. That includes support for hydrogen vehicles under a new $74.5m Future Fuels Fund.
H2X Global chief executive Brendan Norman said pre-orders for the Warrego had exceeded expectations.
“We knew they would be popular but we’ve been blown away by the demand for the Warrego,” said Mr Norman, a former executive at VW and BMW. “Orders have literally been coming in from around the world. The word has got out that we’re on to something really special.”
The ute has a 500km driving range with a refuelling time of 3-5 minutes. Most customers would initially have to have their own refuelling facilities until the vehicles became more prevalent and more refuelling stations were built.
The Warrego is the first in a range of fuel cell electric vehicles that will be released by H2X over the next 24 months.
H2X Global joins a growing list of automakers including Toyota and Hyundai launching hydrogen-powered cars. H2X said it was preparing for a stock market listing later this year and was currently undertaking a capital raising to fund its operations.
Last month, the Queensland government said it would add five hydrogen-powered Hyundai NEXOs to its fleet of zero-emission vehicles.