The prospect of a hydrogen powered Jaguar could be one step closer to reality after JLR revealed that they are working on a research project to develop the fuel option.

As part of the company’s ambitious ‘Project Zeus’ the company is developing many different battery electric vehicles and the company’s product engineering chief, Nick Rogers, recently hinted that a hydrogen fuel cell may appear very soon in a concept car.

The need for long range and flexibility makes the JLR SUV range the most obvious option for hydrogen power, and in an interview with Autocar, Rogers said: “We’re looking for the right propulsion systems – ones that see minimum interference to the environment.

“With hydrogen, we believe there’s a key place [for it in our line-up]. We’re developing and investing in that, and we’re getting great support to do that.”

The Autocar article goes on to suggest that a Range Rover Evoque may be the first vehicle to get the hydrogen technology, with the powertrain also an option for countries which have a limited BEV charging infrastructure.

Rogers said: “Hydrogen is an ideal application for the bigger vehicles [in our line-up], because the bigger the car, you get diminishing returns [when using] battery packs. The amount of energy you can store in a battery for a given amount of weight means you’re in a position where you’re making the cars that are so heavy, they’re using [a lot] of energy just to cart that heavy weight about.”

Hydrogen has been suggested as a cheaper and more flexible alternative to the BEV, though the current market for hydrogen EVs suggests that the cars could be prohibitive, the actual cost of refuelling hydrogen could be a lot cheaper than other fuels.

Sell or part ex your car today