Mumbai: Volkswagen's hydrogen fuel cell concept vehicle, the HyMotion Tiguan, will travel from Portland, Maine to Los Angeles, Calif. over the next 13 days as part of the National Hydrogen Road Tour, sponsored by the US Department of Transportation, the California Fuel Cell Partnership, the US Department of Energy and the National Hydrogen Association. A dedicated web blog, vwhydrogentour.com will provide daily updates and photos from the historic trip.

The Hydrogen Road Tour will visit 31 cities across the country as part of an effort to raise awareness of hydrogen's potential as a fuel and showcase these concept vehicles in real world driving conditions. The road tour demonstrates the united contributions of industry, government and academia in advancing hydrogen technology and meeting driving and infrastructure needs to bring these concept vehicles to market in the coming years.

Volkswagen will join BMW, Mercedes Benz, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Nissan in the tour along with other organisations.

The Tiguan HyMotion concept features a fuel cell system integrated in the engine compartment capable of 107 horsepower. With an assist from the electric motor, the Tiguan HyMotion advances to 134 horsepower. The top speed of the Tiguan HyMotion is 93 mph and it accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in about 14 seconds.

A lithium ion battery with a charge capacity of 6.8 ampere-hours (Ah) serves as an auxiliary energy storage device with a maximum power output of 22 kw. The battery is charged by recovered braking energy (recuperation) or by the fuel cell.

The HyMotion is a full functioning vehicle that makes no compromises on safety or passenger comfort with the addition of its fuel cell powertrain system. The battery system is installed in the trunk beneath the dual cargo floor available on the production Tiguan. The 700 bar hydrogen tank was integrated in the area beneath the floor in the rear bench seat and cargo area. It can hold up to 3.2kg of hydrogen (H2).

The key component of each individual fuel cell - a number of them are combined into a stack - is a proton-conducting membrane. The membrane is located between each anode and cathode pair. Hydrogen flows on the anode side, and oxygen from air flows into the cell on the cathode side. When many of these cells are combined in a stack, enough energy can be generated to drive a vehicle.

In each cell a catalyst assists the reaction of hydrogen with oxygen to form water on the cathode side. The fuel cell thereby converts chemical energy directly into electrical energy in an oxidation, or "cold" combustion process. The generated "exhaust" is clean water vapour.

The fuel cell is supplied fuel from the compressed hydrogen tank and oxygen from the air by an external air inlet and outputs the electrical energy it generates - the power - via a converter and a downstream electrical system rectifier - to one or more electric motors. The Tiguan HyMotion is nearly silent when driven, and it is emissions-free.