The fuel cell of the electric car was recently in the shadow of the batteries. At Audi, it should now step into the light again.
Audi takes the fuel cell out of the drawer again. The Ingolstadt-based company wants to accelerate the development of hydrogen technology, as the British magazine "Autocar" reports with reference to company boss Bram Schot. In this context, Audi wants to become a center of excellence for fuel cells within the VW Group. In the current year, the Ingolstadt-based company plans to present the study of a corresponding electric car; a finished model could be offered for leasing in 2021. In 2016 Audi recently publicly focused on fuel cell technology with a vehicle study.
With the fuel cell, Audi would have an alternative to the battery in the rear. Possible delivery bottlenecks or dependency on Asian cell producers could be reduced. Hydrogen technology offers advantages in terms of range compared to comparable batteries, especially in freight transport and for long-distance cars, and refueling is done faster than charging. The fuel cell, which for a long time was rather neglected, could therefore gain new momentum in the future; The Stuttgart supplier Bosch had recently announced that it would start production.