Mazda has completed the delivery of the first two units of its Mazda RX8 and Mazda Premacy RE models to the HyNor Partnership. These two vehicles use a combination of technologies: an internal combustion engine, which can run on both hydrogen and petrol, and an electric motor connected to lithium ion batteries. The power unit produces 109 horsepower in total and vehicle owners a range of 100 kilometres on hydrogen, plus an extra 45 kilometres if the secondary petrol tank is used.
Although Norway is leading on the use of hydrogen for road transport, the secondary petrol tank installed in Mazda’s hydrogen-powered vehicles may still need to be employed for a while longer, until Norway’s network of hydrogen filling stations is consolidated.
Nevertheless, prospects for hydrogen-power in Norway are good. In 2003, the HyNor Partnership was established to lay the foundations for broad testing of hydrogen in the transport sector in Norway. The HyNor Partnership brings together a total of 50 players in the hydrogen and transport industries as well as a number of regional governments and organisations, and in May of this year, it announced the official opening of the Norwegian hydrogen highway, HyNor, running for nearly 600 kilometres between Oslo and Stavanger.
HyNor was opened on 11 May 2009 by Norway's Minister of Transport and Communications, Liv Signe Navarsete, who was also invited by oil-giant StatoilHydro, to open its hydrogen station at its service station in Lier. On the same day, governing mayor of Oslo, Erling Lae, opened StatoilHydro's new hydrogen service station at Økern.
Since 2003, StatoilHydro has been the driving force behind HyNor's goal to establish a hydrogen transportation infrastructure in Norway. The first hydrogen station was opened at Forus in Stavanger in 2006, the second in Porsgrunn in 2007, and now the two new stations are open in Oslo and Lier. HyNor’s goal is to build an initial hydrogen infrastructure, which will then form part of a future permanent infrastructure. During 2009, it will be possible to drive hydrogen-fuelled vehicles manufactured by Mazda, Toyota and Think between Oslo and Stavanger.
HyNor also publishes a complete list of hydrogen cars on its website, which currently includes the following vehicles: Audi A2H2 Car,BMW Hydrogen 7, Chrysler ecoVoyager, Ford Focus FCV, GM Chevy Volt, Honda FCX Clarity, Mercedes B-Class FCell, Nissan X-Trail FCV, Renault Scenic ZEV H2, Think Nordic Car, Toyota FCHV SUV, Volkswagen Tiguan.
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