The Volkswagen group will be ready to launch fuel cell cars just as soon as there is a demand for them and a refuelling network to support them, said Audi’s head of technical development, Ulrich Hackenberg at the Geneva show.
“We are developing our own fuel cell technology within the group and already have a portfolio of patents,” he said. “We are not yet in the phase of industrialisation for series production. We are waiting for the market and the infrastructure, but we would then be able to introduce industrialisation within two and a half years, I think.”
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Hackenberg believes fuel cells will have some role to play in helping OEMs hit the European Union’s average CO2 target of 95g/km in 2020. “They have an unlimited range if there is an infrastructure, and we cannot avoid technology which might be important,” he said.
Hackenberg believes that Audi will hit the 95g/km average through a combination of factors. “Fifty per cent will come from the engines and the drivetrain, 20% from the vehicle and the missing 30% from alternative drives,” he said.
“We are increasing the efficiency of the engines, working on the gearbox systems, optimising the vehcle parameters such as aerodynamics and cooling systems which can be closed off when not needed. CNG can give us 20% of the savings we want from alternative drives and there will be hybrids, plug-in hybrids, micro-hybrids and battery electric vehicles.”
Audi is showing electrified (e-tron) versions of the new Q7 and new R8 at Geneva, and Hackenberg revealed that there will be a large four- or five-seater family car under the e-tron banner in future. It will be based on specific architecture linked to the company’s MLB platform. “We will be able to build it in an MLB factory, but we will need different automation systems because the weld and riveting points are different. We will be able to work with steel, aluminium or a mixture of materials, and for a big car we should be able to realise [a battery capacity of] 90kWh.”
