Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Electric Cars

''The NEXO fleet represents the first deployment of fully certified, ADR-approved Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) in Australia and the first use of hydrogen vehicles by a Government in Australia
The arrival of NEXO on ACT roads is the first realisation of Hyundai’s and the ACT Government’s long-term commitment to developing a hydrogen economy in Australia
A total of 20 zero-emission Hyundai NEXO hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles have been registered and are set to hit the road in March as part of the ACT government fleet.

The NEXO fleet represents the first deployment of fully certified, ADR-approved Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) in Australia, as well as the first use of hydrogen vehicles by a Government in Australia.''

The arrival of NEXO on ACT roads is a milestone in the march towards a new era of vehicle transport, further developing opportunities for a hydrogen economy in Australia.''NEXO has a range of 666km (WLTP), with a refueling time of three to five minutes, in an SUV that emits only water vapour from its exhaust and purifies the air as it drives.

With drive from a near-silent electric drivetrain, NEXO creates far less external noise than a conventional vehicle, which is an especially important benefit in urban environments.

NEXO features the latest autonomous driving capabilities and is extremely safe, as the first FCEV to score the ANCAP maximum five-star safety rating.''

The refuel time put EV's to shame! and it purifies the air as its driven!

On a u3a visit to Intelligent Energy in Loughborough (Hydrogen Fuel Cell firm) - https://www.intelligent-energy.com - we were told that their assessment is that the market will stratify:
- Light cars / shopping hatches / small SUV / Light Commercials etc = BEV
- Luxury limousines, Large SUV, Large commercials = Hydrogen Fuel Cell

There is a degree of "They would say that wouldn't they" but they are working with a number of the big automotive firms. Sadly, they weren't allowed to tell us which ones.

That is one of the most intelligent statements I have seen on the subject for some time though I would add to that fuel cell category touring cars and business cars that need to travel long distances. For the same reason I have some doubts about light commercials, a courier or a tradesman does not want to have to stop in the middle of his day to search for a recharge point and wait for the vehicle to charge.

As a separate item I am also convinced that we need more noise from EVs as a matter of pedestrian safety. There should be some sort of sound emitter that works up to any urban maximum speed, say 70 kph, and not that annoying hair drier whine either
Even with the current rules they are too quiet. It should be made law that retro fitting is required and subject to MOT inspection.

This comes from someone who nearly finished under an EV the other day while stepping aside to pass a parked car on a narrow lane.

The hair dryer whine is a comic side effect of EVs. Most seem to have this "feature".

Their otherwise silent approach is dangerous, and we do a lot of lane walking. Consider also the hard of hearing and visually impaired. Somebody will get killed if that hasn't already happened.

What about builders, Ford are producing electric Transits but they won't tow a 2 tonne digger on a trailer. I did read an article where someone towed a caravan behind a full electric vehicle (sorry can't remember what vehicle) and only got 54 miles per charge. So what provision is there for when ICE is banned ?

This of course is only an issue at very low speeds, once a car is up to round 20mph the tyre noise is significant, and overall noice levels from EVs are not significantly lower than most modern ICE vehicles. I believe it's now mandatory for EVs to emit a sound up to I think 15mph or so. We don't have any particular problem with pedestrians hearing ours at low speeds, occasionally if we come up behind walkers in the lane they don't notice us at first but it's no problem just to trickle along at walking pace behind them until they do.

The Transport and Road Research Lab looked at this issue some years ago and didn't at that time feel there was any significant problem:

https://assets.publishing.service.g...m-quiet-electric-and-hybrid-vehicles.pdf

Much more of a risk I believe is pedestrians wearing headphones, it makes them much less aware of their surroundings.

I can see the roads being full of older vehicles and the prices of secondhand ICE cars will rocket.

Modern cars are very reliable. rust proofing is much better so they can keep on the roads much longer these days. My 120,000mile 20 yr old Corsa have just scraped through another MOT for £200. It still has rust free bodywork.

If they can get 20 years out Tow vehicles and Transits, we're going to be well into 2050 before we see any significant reduction. By that time, synthetic fuels will be affordable and the ICE engine will be back in favour......

Yep, apparently the rule of thumb is that towing with an EV up to its rated capacity will halve the range.

As for provision for when ICE is banned, that's decades in the future. There will be loads of diesel transits and suchlike around for yonks and yonks, AIUI the proposed ban on ICE vehicles in 2030 only applies to private cars, not commercial vehicles like vans, pickups, and trucks which do 99.9% of commercial towing.

The Ford F150 Lightning has a towing capacity of around 4 tonnes and a max range of up to 320 miles, and that's for the current version. I can't imagine they won't be able to improve on that over the next 10 to 20 years.

Again, second hand info (but very close second hand) .... my Nephew tried a trial of EV small vans for work ... it looked do-able on paper but when they had them on test, by the time you'd put two burly plant-mechanics and their personal toolboxes in them the range just crashed to the point that even reasonably local jobs were off the table.

TBM ... it would be fun to compile a list of vehicles that were:

A .... made in high numbers (to make ongoing spares support worthwhile)

B ... had decent corrosion resistance

C ..... low or no excessive electronics

D .... economical on fuel

They'd be the ones to have as a keeper .... for me it's my galvanised chassis 300tdi Defender taking into account my local/offroad/towing/snow use .... but a compact economical Diesel car for nipping South would be useful .... and diesel is likely to be the ice fuel that hangs on longest for the tradesman purposes mentioned above.

K