Rolls-Royce is thinking about stepping away from typical battery electric vehicles in favor of hydrogen cars once H2 technology has improved enough for mainstream use at scale.
The automaker has been focused on developing battery electric vehicles as its zero-emission offering.
The latest Rolls-Royce Spectre made its way into the spotlight earlier this month at Villa d’Este in Italy for its European debut. That model is the first electric vehicle from the UK-based automaker and is expected to begin production in September. It will boast one of the largest batteries any production car has ever held, at 120kWh.The vehicle’s range is said to be over 300 miles, with rapid charging at 195kW.
That said, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Rolls-Royce CEO, has said that the unique positioning of the company and the average owner’s specialized use case means that it is possible to consider hydrogen cars as a technology with true potential for the future.
In a recent Autocar report, Müller-Ötvös explained that he viewed fuel cells as the way to go, but that he doesn’t believe the automaker would ever move forward with the type of H2 combustion technology currently under development by companies such as Toyota and JCB.
Müller-Ötvös is waiting for hydrogen cars to see more development before jumping in.
“I think a hydrogen combustion engine is nothing I would in any way look into, because that was tested already years ago,” said Müller-Ötvös in reference to the tech trial Rolls-Royce’s parent company BMW already tested in the early 2000s with a uniquely adapted 7 Series.
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