Audi Says It's Ready to Enter the Fuel Cell Car Market After Unveiling the A7 H-Tron Concept

 Fuel Cell Vehicles  

Audi has introduced a new fuel cell concept car at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. The A7 H-tron Quattro is an emission-free car that is supposed to demonstrate that the company has achieved significant advancements in the development of fuel cell technology.

It seems that Toyota's enthusiasm for hydrogen-powered vehicles has started to rub off on other car makers, with the likes of Honda and BMW developing fuel cell vehicles and planning to start mass production in the next couple of years, and with Hyundai already leasing a fuel cell SUV. The latest company to jump on the fuel-cell bandwagon is Audi, after introducing a new fuel cell concept car at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show earlier this week. The German automaker unveiled the A7 H-tron Quattro, an emission-free car that is supposed to demonstrate that the company has achieved significant advancements in the development of fuel cell technology.

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The A7 Sportback has all the characteristics that can make hydrogen-powered cars look much better than other alternative fuel vehicles – longer range, no carbon emissions, and short recharge times. But, it comes with a twist, as it's not a conventional hydrogen-powered car, like the newly unveiled Toyota Mirai, and is fitted with an electric powertrain to go with a hydrogen fuel cell, making it the first fuel-cell plug-in hybrid vehicle in the world.

"The H-tron concept car shows that we have also mastered fuel cell technology. We are in a position to launch the production process as soon as the market and infrastructure are ready."

Audi decided to use the platform of the luxury fastback sedan and convert it into a hybrid that is equipped with two 85-kilowatt electric motors – one for the front, and the other for the rear axle – making it an all-wheel-drive car, along with a fuel cell stack that converts hydrogen into electricity at efficiencies of up to 60%, according to the automaker. Each motor has a power output rated at 113 horsepower, and 199 lb-ft of torque, that according to Audi, is enough for a top speed of 111 mph, and a 7.1-second 0-60 mph acceleration time, numbers that make the A7 H-tron Quattro probably the first high-performance hydrogen-powered car.

Thanks to the 8.8-kWh lithium-ion battery, the car can travel up to 31 miles on electricity only. The battery can be recharged by plugging it into an electric socket, as well as through regenerative braking. The company says that it takes about two hours for the battery to be fully recharged. Under the hood, there are four hydrogen tanks, that have a combined storage capacity of about 11 pounds, providing a driving range of 311 miles, or a fuel efficiency rated at about 62 miles per gallon equivalent, which puts it right up there with Toyota's Mirai.

However, the A7 H-tron Quattro is only a “technology demonstrator”, as Audi says, without giving any guarantees that it will ever go into production. In any case, it clearly shows that the German automaker is embracing the idea of developing hydrogen-powered cars as an alternative to conventional, internal-combustion engine vehicles, but before the supporting infrastructure is put in place, Audi won't start mass production of a fuel cell car. "The H-tron concept car shows that we have also mastered fuel cell technology. We are in a position to launch the production process as soon as the market and infrastructure are ready," says Ulrich Hackenberg, the company's Chief Technical Officer.

By Jordan Perch

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Author Bio - Frequent 33rd Square contributor Jordan Perch is an automotive fanatic and “safe driving” specialist. He is a writer for DMV.com, which is a collaborative community designed to help ease the stress and annoyance of “dealing with the DMV.”