World's First Hydrogen Powered Tesla Is Green Of A Different Sort

A company out of the Netherlands called the Holthausen Group has taken an already cool and green EV in the form of a Tesla Model S and made it cooler. The company claims to have been the first in the world to supplement the Model S with a hydrogen power source. The vehicle is known as Project Hesla.

The Model S used in the project was purchased second hand and modified with what the company describes as a secondary layer of charging that adds minimal weight. The new hydrogen system promises to double the range of the luxury EV. One of the biggest challenges was devising a workaround to get the Tesla to accept power from an external source.

Project Hesla now has two power sources, one being the onboard battery and the other being the hydrogen sorted in tanks that are fitted inside the vehicle. The hydrogen is pumped into a fuel cell to provide additional power to the battery.

Hesla claims to be able to go over 620 miles using both the battery and the hydrogen fuel. The big challenge with this hydrogen fuel cell car and all other hydrogen vehicles is that the hydrogen infrastructure is very limited with only 39 public hydrogen stations in the US all located in four states.

The other big limiting factor is cost, the conversion price was $58,000 alone. That would mean a buyer plunking down cash for a Model S P100D would shell out $205,000 for the base car and conversion combined. Work on the prototype is ongoing with changes coming in the future.

SOURCE: The Drive