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The space up! blue.
| ConceptThe space up! blue is the third member of the “New Small Family” from Volkswagen. The compact, self-assured zero-emission MPV styled on the legendary Volkswagen Samba microbus received its premiere at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show. Specification includes: the world’s first high-temperature fuel cell and an array of twelve lithium-ion batteries for powering an electric motor. |
DriveWhile the lithium-ion batteries are installed under the bench seat in the rear, the high-temperature fuel cell is located at the front of the vehicle. The fuel cell extracts electrical energy from hydrogen (H2). Two safety tanks integrated in the underbody of the space up! blue store up to 3.3 kilograms of compressed hydrogen. |
Electric motorWhen the 45-kW/61-hp electric motor is fed by battery power alone, the space up! blue is able to cover 100 kilometres – sufficient for virtually any urban journey. By way of comparison: a hybrid car running purely on the electric motor’s power – i.e. using just the energy stored in the battery – manages an average of just two kilometres before the internal combustion engine has to cut in again. Energy levels are topped up either at the mains or from the Volkswagen high-temperature fuel cell. In this case, the range increases by an additional 250 kilometres. But the micro-MPV utilises yet another energy source too: the sun, whose energy is harnessed by means of a large solar panel on the roof. This supplies up to 150 watts of power, which is likewise fed to the battery. High-temperature fuel cellResearch into fuel cells for mass production has reached a turning point with Volkswagen’s development of the high-temperature fuel cell. In contrast to the low-temperature fuel cells brought out to date, this new fuel cell can be operated over a temperature range of up to 160 degrees. And, what’s more, without additional humidification. Consequently, it can use a far simpler system of cooling and water management than that required for low-temperature fuel cells. This makes the fuel cell far lighter, cheaper and more suitable for everyday use. Giving it excellent prospects of being put into mass production. |
| InteriorThe Volkswagen designers also adopted a progressive approach when it came to the styling of the interior. The key point of interest here is the materials that have been used, with large sections of the surfaces consisting of recycled materials. At the same time, more care than ever was taken to create material compositions with a highly advanced, refined appearance. The dashboard and door trims, for instance, are made from a biopolymer, or “bio-plastic” as it is known. This is a composite material consisting of wood, plastics and additives, whose granular appearance has been incorporated directly into the interior’s styling concept. |
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