We know about Porsche’s astonishing hydrogen combustion engine, but this may be the first step the marque is taking toward the other side of hydrogen-powered mobility.
If a new filing discovered by CarBuzz at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office is anything to go by, Porsche is considering producing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and if it does go ahead with the innovation detailed here, the German automaker will maximize spatial efficiency, packing more storage area into the same underfloor space.
The details of the patent are of little consequence to us; as mentioned, this is basically just a new design that aims to maximize usable hydrogen tank storage space while keeping the use of raw materials to a minimum.
What matters is that Porsche is considering fuel cells at all.
Besides an unsubstantiated rumor back in 2015, we can find no evidence that Porsche has ever seriously considered a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Porsche published an article in 2020 that took a broad look at the benefits and drawbacks of hydrogen as fuel, but that was all we heard until 2022, when the automaker announced the results of a hydrogen combustion study. The results of this study were positive, but Porsche quickly pointed out that its H2 engine was never intended for production in its existing form.
Basically, whether we’re talking hydrogen combustion or fuel cells, Porsche is open to anything but is far from committing. It’s much more interested in hybridization and/or synthetic fuels.
A fuel cell setup would never work in something like a Porsche 911, particularly since most of that car’s character relies on the placement of weight over the rear axle more than any other area of the car. It’s also too heavy and too cumbersome in its current form, but it could potentially be applied to larger cars like the Cayenne or Panamera someday.
Regardless of where this patent’s ideas may potentially find a home, Porsche is, as always, looking for ways to make things lighter and more efficient in every way. That’s why we have faith that the all-electric Mission X hypercar will be brilliant when it finally arrives later this decade.
SOURCE: CARBUZZ
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