VW Testing Chinese Passat Lingyu fuel-cell vehicles in the States

Volkswagen of America announced today that it has 'imported' 16 Passat Lingyu fuel-cell vehicles from China to use in fleet demonstrations at the California Fuel Cell Partnership in Sacramento, California. These prototype fuel-cell vehicles that are based on the domestic version of the Passat were developed in China as part of a joint effort between VW Shanghai, Tongji University and Volkswagen Group Research. They were first revealed at last summer's 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

"These vehicles logged nearly 50,000 miles in Beijing - with zero harmful emissions. We can think of no better place to next exhibit this environmentally-friendly technology than at the California Fuel Cell Partnership," said John Tillman, program manager for Volkswagen's U.S. Advanced Powertrain Research Program.

The hydrogen fuel cells are located in the car floor of the Passat Lingyu. The fuel cell system develops a peak power of 55 kW. The energy obtained by converting hydrogen (H) into water (H2O) is fed into a lithium-ion battery which is located under the rear bench seat and has a capacity of eight Ampere-hours (Ah) at 376 Volt (V).

VW claims that the Passat Lingyu is capable of traveling at highway speeds up to 90 mph (145 km/h) and as far as 146 miles (235 km) on a single tank of fuel with the only byproduct released from the tailpipe being water and oxygen.