Ineos Automotive, a division of British chemicals giant Ineos Group, has introduced a zero-emissions version of its Grenadier off-roader at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The Grenadier Demonstrator will be powered by BMW Group’s hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain.
The Grenadier FCEV demo vehicle is identical to the ICE-powered Grenadier SUV, except for the power bulge on the bonnet which houses the additional height of the fuel cell. The bulge will not be present in the production model.
The SUV’s ladder-frame platform is flexible, which allowed its engineers to integrate the hydrogen fuel cell powertrain by modifying the chassis and the rear axle. The torque vectoring capability of the electric drive units will deliver “outstanding control and maneuverability in all off-road conditions,” as per Ineos.
Moreover, the hydrogen-powered Grenadier has undergone rigorous testing, including off-road trials in the Austrian mountains. “There has been no compromise to its on- and off-road capabilities or towing capacities,” said the company in a statement.
Gallery: Ineos Grenadier Demonstrator Hydrogen FCEV
Powertrain details are scarce at the moment, so we don’t know how the hydrogen model would compare to its ICE counterpart, which is currently on sale in Europe. It's manufactured at the brand’s facility in Hambach, Germany.
BMW uses its fuel cell technology on the iX5 SUV, which has a range of 313 miles on the WLTP cycle and can refuel in about three to four minutes. In the iX5, a total of six kilograms of hydrogen is stored in two carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic tanks.
Here's what Lynn Calder, the CEO of Ineos Automotive, said about the Grenadier Demonstrator's Goodwood Festival of Speed debut:
The hydrogen-powered Grenadier Demonstrator along with our all-electric model due in 2026, shows Ineos’ commitment to net zero. BEVs are perfect for certain uses, shorter trips, most private car journeys, and urban deliveries, whilst Hydrogen FCEVs are more suited for longer trips, and heavy duty cycles where batteries impact too much on payload and where the long-range between stops are necessary.
The company also has plans to launch a BEV in 2026, which will be built under contract manufacturing at Magna-Steyr’s Graz, Austria facility. The Fisker Ocean is also built at the same facility.
The latest announcement indicates that the brand accelerated its FCEV push after reports of development delays, due to a lack of hydrogen charging infrastructure, emerged in January 2023. Ineos Automotive’s former CEO Dirk Heilmann had said that the hydrogen Grenadier would not arrive until 2027. Since then the company’s top management changed – it appointed a new CEO and COO.
That said, the ICE versions of the old-school off-roader will arrive in the United States and Canada in the first quarter of 2024, with prices starting at $71,500 in the US.
The Ineos brand name may sound familiar if you watch Formula One. Ineos stickers are plastered on the back of the rear wing, and also on the sides of the air intake of the Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 car. Ineos owns a one-third stake in the German motorsport outfit.
