Ford C-Max H2 ICE (2007) CAR review

Another hydrogen-powered Focus – what’s the difference between this and the FCV?

The H2 ICE stands for hydrogen internal combustion engine. It has the kind of engine you’d recognize - Ford’s global 2.3-litre four-pot, as used in the Mazda 6, among others - but modified to burn hydrogen. Fuel-cell vehicles like the Focus FCV also use hydrogen, but they use it to create electricity in a chemical reaction, which in turn powers an electric motor. It’s a far more efficient use of hydrogen, but fuel cells are delicate, expensive and we still haven’t found a way to mass-produce them. Hydrogen internal combustion engines like this C-Max's are closer to production reality and might help to encourage the hydrogen infrastructure we need to replace petrol stations.

Is it really as clean as a fuel cell?

Pretty much; there’s virtually no CO2 produced. The big problem is storage; the hydrogen has to be carried at high pressure to fit enough of it in for the car to have a decent range. High pressure means big tanks, which means weight, and even with three tanks the C-Max only carries enough H2 to travel around 125 miles, around a third the range of a conventional model. Hydrogen burns more efficiently than petrol in an internal combustion engine however; 2.75 litres of hydrogen has the energy equivalent to 10 litres of petrol, which would propel a standard car only around 80 miles.