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Jun 12, 2009 05:40 PM | 24
As Obama slashes funding for the U.S. hydrogen fuel cell program, hydrogen enthusiasts are going open source. Autocar reports that U.K.-based personal transport maker Riversimple will unveil its Smart car-sized hydrogen-powered vehicle on June 16. The vehicle’s size, fuel efficiency and other vital statistics have already been posted on the Hyrban wiki Web site.
For the last three years, Sebastian Piech and other members of the Porsche family have been bankrolling the development of the Riversimple Urban Car in conjunction with Oxford University and Cranfield University.
What have they accomplished? The Urban Car weighs just 772 pounds (350 kilograms), can reach speeds of 50 miles (81 kilometers) per hour, and has a range of more than 200 miles (322 kilometers). It runs off a tiny six kilowatt fuel cell, far smaller than the 100 kilowatt system found in the Honda Clarity. Four electric motors, one on each wheel, also function as the brakes and electricity generators.*
“The Riversimple Urban Car represents a major step towards practical 21st century personal transport and towards the fulfillment of my great-grandfather’s ambitions for accessible personal transport but this time combining his other passions: light weight and high efficiency," Piech told Autocar.
The company plans to roll out 10 prototypes initially and then set up a pilot program with a city in the United Kingdom. The cars will be leased over 20 years, with fuel included in the cost.
Of course, if that doesn’t sound good to you, you can always make your own. The engineers will soon post the entire design on the wiki, and anyone can lease the it for free, modify it, and manufacture their own vehicle.
But as the Fast Company blog points out, hydrogen cars may never compete with plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles, which is one reason why California’s “Hydrogen Highway” may be going the way of Los Angeles’s fabled streetcars.
Images of Urban Car courtesy Riversimple
*Correction (6/15/09) This sentence has been modified since the original posting.
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24 Comments
Add CommentThank you Obama,for stopping this mess when the real solution is superconducting battery's!Ok where's the money to get this done?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTo hell with with hydrogen when we can plug in at home.Another way to keep us at the pump.When we can be using wind and solar at home,and keeping the money in are own wallet's.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSeems like the way to go to me. With a wind and or solar hydrogen generator at home you could get the fuel companies out of your pocket forever. Looking forward to the day I can own one.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe try they don't
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWho's going to pay for it, "Follow The Money," but there ain't none, Pres. Obama has spent mine.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAfter reading this article, I had an idea. In addition to having a solar hydrogen electrolysis plant, I thought the car can produce its own hydrogen. The car produces its own electricity through breaking and by adding a solar panel, which covers the car while in park, it can gather solar energy to produce hydrogen.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe we can go back to prairie schooners.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPS, by the way, cars have "brakes" not "breaks"
Hydrogen Automobiles are a bunch of eggheads looking too far, when the answer to the problem is right in front of us. They WANT the problem to be complicated because they can use their cranium to do more than hold their hats up. Ockham's razor - all things being equal, the simplest answer is usually the best. We need to concentrate on electric cars - save the outlandish $100,000 verities for another time. We need clean transportation for the masses NOW.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOH, and Marcel, you need to cut back on the caffeine. I mean, damn.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI love working in innovation. Every single decision we make to do something, there are a thousand reasons why not to. The companies that succeed are the ones that do it anyway, and find solutions or ways around those problems. And for every product we make, we find one person who gets it, and nine others who still just can't wrap their brain around it. I see the nine of you have found this story... glad to see someone out there doing, instead of listening to nonproductive armchair know-it-alls.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIs that four electric motors on EACH wheel? Or is it one per wheel?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm confused. What possible purpose could there be for "four electrical motors on each wheel"? Would one per wheel be enough (four total)?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe one thing I didn't say is the technology is not viable. But, it has been already determined that the cars will be out of reach economically for the average person. The price for the next 10-15 years will be $50,000+. The cost of an infrastructure to support the car will cost ALL of us Billions in taxes (that's with a B) yet we, the unwashed masses won't be able to buy one. Of course there are those who think spending all of our money on things only a few can use is OK. I don't happen to be one of those. An electric car that can be plugged into a home charging system, that is affordable it a much more viable system. The cars are projected to cost $15,000 each. That is a car the we the people can afford. My point is, we need a car that we ALL can own and pay for fuel, not just a few rich people.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe total balance of energy is what matters. How much carbon dioxide do we need to produce for having the electric car charged at your home's plug in? and what about hydrogen? anyway, congratulation for those who deliver vital knowledge through open source, and better as free as a bird. We humans need to get through 50 years of delay because of oil monopoly in transport, so let all flowers grow and contribute, I hear too much criticism here ;)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy not do a multi-hybrid? have several different ways to create electricity store it in a battery and run the motors off of that? A small fuel cell, solar panels, regen braking, and mabey even a steam cycle for regular breaking (Anti-Lock breaks turn off the regen, at least in my Civic Hybrid) where the heat generated from the break pads boils water which would turn a tubine to generate electricity. This would also help keep the breaks cool.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSounds like this car might have some problems, but going "open source" with the design will definity add alot of innovation fast.
Hydrogen powered cars were in use in France in the 1950's. They had gas generators which pyrolysed wood to produce a stream of hydrogen used by the motors. Surely we could do this better today by using the hydrogen in conjunction with fuel cells? So the technology exists and would be ideal in places where fuel pumps are rare. Powerful trucks also used this method, so what possible reason can there be for not using it again today?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHydrogen is the fuel of the future...and always will be! (nuff said)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisElectric cars are a fine idea...no emissions. Nice. But imagine a country full of electric cars with everybody plugging in to recharge every night, and coal fired or nuclear powered electric generation plants working overtime to keep up with our insatiable demand for electricity. Seems to me that ultimately the electric car will save pollution from the exhaust pipe, but lead to pollution at the electric power generation end. My vote's for hydrogen. Besides, the oil companies would never let the electric car happen. They will use their infrastructure to take over the role of hydrogen distribution.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisElectric cars are a fine idea...no emissions. Nice. But imagine a country full of electric cars with everybody plugging in to recharge every night, and coal fired or nuclear powered electric generation plants working overtime to keep up with our insatiable demand for electricity. Seems to me that ultimately the electric car will save pollution from the exhaust pipe, but lead to pollution at the electric power generation end. My vote's for hydrogen. Besides, the oil companies would never let the electric car happen. They will use their infrastructure to take over the role of hydrogen distribution.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhere do you suppose we get the electricity for the cars?
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