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The Suzuki Swift has long been offered with mild- and full-hybrid powertrains internationally, but never in a hydrogen variant
The high costs and sophisticated engineering required in the development of hydrogen vehicles limit their appeal mainly to big, expensive cars and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Despite the various challenges involved, some companies are taking a bold step to explore the potential of hydrogen for small, low-cost cars.
Last month, a hydrogen-powered Suzuki Swift was displayed at the 47th International Vienna Motor Symposium. Austrian powertrain specialist AVL developed this futuristic Swift in collaboration with Suzuki and presented it at the event. The car was a working prototype engineered as a tech demonstrator, which, among various other reasons, immediately rules out the possibility of a Swift Hydrogen being launched anytime soon.
The hydrogen-powered Swift has been derived from the car’s second-generation model. While most hydrogen cars on the market today use fuel-cell technology, this heavily modified Swift employs an internal combustion engine. The latter isn’t as efficient as the former for a passenger car application, but far more cost-effective and practical.
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Unsurprisingly, AVL led the project, handling the layout and development of the engine, building the demo vehicle, and performing the calibration. The company is using a 1.4-litre direct injection hydrogen engine in this heavily modified Mk2 Swift.
AVL has calibrated the hydrogen engine for both lean-burn and Lambda=1 stoichiometric combustion modes. In a hydrogen combustion engine, the former means the engine runs with excess air, targeting higher efficiency and lower emissions, while the latter uses more hydrogen to improve performance output.
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The Lambda = 1 operation is aided by a cooled EGR system that helps keep the combustion temperature and NOx emissions in check. It delivers 100 kW (134 hp) of power and 220 Nm of torque, representing gains of 10 kW (13 hp) and 20 Nm, respectively, over the typically used lean-burn setup.
Suzuki has no plans to launch a Swift with a hydrogen engine anytime soon, neither in Europe nor in Japan. In India, Maruti Suzuki reportedly plans to introduce a series-hybrid powertrain based on the Z12E 1.2-litre naturally aspirated three-cylinder petrol engine in the Swift as early as 2027. The series-hybrid variant may deliver a fuel economy of around 35 km/l.
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