From Superinnovators 16/09/23. Note: This article is in TLDR (Too Long Didn’t Read) format which is popular in the innovation community and provides a bullet summary of information.
- NamX, an Afro-European brand, has partnered with Pininfarina to develop a Hydrogen Utility Vehicle (HUV) that aims to address the limitations of current hydrogen fueling infrastructure.
- The unique selling point of NamX’s HUV is its use of removable hydrogen cartridges as a fuel source. These cartridges can be easily swapped, refilled, or delivered to the user’s location.
- NamX’s HUV offers a total driving range of around 800 km (~500 miles) with six cartridges. Each cartridge provides approximately 150 km (93 miles) of driving range.
- The company is already taking pre-orders for the HUV, which comes in two versions: a base model with a rear-wheel drive powertrain capable of 300 hp, and a GTH version with all-wheel drive and 500 hp.
- NamX has set an ambitious target for the first deliveries of this concept vehicle, aiming for the start of 2026.
More info
https://pininfarina.it/en/work/namx-huv/
Like for other such “superinnovators”, the product here is the company itself, not what it makes, since the investors mainly intend to make money by re-selling their shares (to another VC or the public through an IPO). Therefore, nobody cares about the fact that this car will never exist. In fact, there is no credible solution for these “cartridges” (High pressure tanks would weight about 100 kg per cartridge, metal hydrides even more, carbon nanotubes are unstable and liquid hydrides release contaminated H2.). Toyota, Hyundai and a few others invested dozens of billions in R&D before choosing their tank concept. Here, the co-founders do not even try to explain why and how they could do better with a few millions: they just bet that a few nice pics & vids from a car designer will be enough to sell silly people an expensive dream.
So let’s wait a few more years (or months?) until the Ponzi scheme collapses. Just like Hopium.