California-based automobile company Hyperion has unveiled its hydrogen-powered supercar that brings them one step closer to the future and hopes that it will change how people perceive hydrogen fuel cell technology.
Hyperion XP-1
For those futuristic automobile fans, Hyperion XP-1 could be "the next one." Hyperion's new model can drive for up to 1,000 miles on one tank of compressed hydrogen gas. Additionally, XP-1's electric motors can generate more than 1,000 horsepower and can go from zero to 60 miles per hour within two seconds.
There are previous hydrogen-fueled cars such as Hyundai Nexo, Toyota Mirai, and Honda Clarity, all of which rely on lithium-ion batteries to boost their power. But with XP-1, its makers have incorporated a carbon-filter energy storage system feeding a PEM (proton exchange embrace), providing power to each wheel.
Unlike ordinary cars, XP-1's only emission is water vapor. The whole car, without the batteries, weighs approximately 2,275 pounds.
Furthermore, XP-1 sports an eye-catching design of prominent air blades on both side that contributes to the car's aerodynamic stability at high speeds, and solar panels that can change position to track the sun. An appropriate name for a car named after the god of light.
Hyperion CEO Angelo Kafantaris said that aerospace engineers have long understood the advantages of hydrogen, and now through XP-1, people will experience its extraordinary value proposition.
"This is only the beginning of what can be achieved with hydrogen as an energy storage medium. The potential of this fuel is limitless and will revolutionize the energy sector," Kafantaris said.
The XP-1's appearance has drawn plenty of attention from the car and tech enthusiasts, with some of them describing the car as similar to the Bugatti Chiron, or jaw-dropping, and the most aggressively outrageous futuristic designs ever seen.
Clean Technica even said that XP-1 looks like a car straight out of a science fiction novel.
However, there are only a limited fueling station around the United States, only about 60 hydrogen station pumps as of the first of this year. But as the demand grows, it is expected that more will open. Vehicle design company Nikola is setting up its hydrogen station network to support its trucks.
Hyperion has not yet released any of the specs of the XP-1prototype, but the company is scheduling the production of 300 XP-1 in 2022.
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Hydrogen-Fueled Cars
Hydrogen-fueled cars are electric vehicles that use hydrogen to generate power rather than using batteries like other electric cars. With XP-1, it uses hydrogen in fuel cells that combine it with oxygen from the air, creating water and stream of electricity to power the car.
It has a longer range than a battery-powered electric car because compressed hydrogen has more power per liter than a battery. Additionally, hydrogen is very light, making the overall weight of the car lesser than with heavy batteries. In turn, the car becomes more energy efficient to go faster and farther.
One of the advantages of hydrogen is that it takes lesser time to pump a tank full than charging a battery as it only takes five minutes to fill a tank on the XP-1 for a 1,000-mile trip. Lastly, hydrogen gas is not subject to degradation and wear, unlike the batteries in electric cars.
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