Riversimple Unveils Hydrogen Car in UK

Small hydrogen powered urban vehicle will feature open source design and development

Britain’s first hydrogen-powered car

Somerset House in London is half a word away and a far cry from the corporate hallways of the world’s major automobile manufacturers. But it was here that Riversimple company founder Hugo Spowers unveiled his new design for a hydrogen-powered car.

Powered by a much-smaller number of hydrogen fuel cells than Honda’s FCX Clarity (the Riversimple is the size of a Smart car and uses a 6kW fuel cell as compared to the Honda’s 100kW fuel cell), this results in a vehicle with an expected fuel consumption equivalent to 300 miles per gallon, a top speed of 50 mph and a range of over 200 miles.

According to Riversimple, greenhouse gas emissions are estimated at 30 grams per kilometer wheel to well – meaning that the company has included in the estimate the environmental impact of hydrogen extraction and processing – the vehicle, itself, emits only water as the byproduct of the fuel burning process.

5 key elements

According to the company, the approach to their hydrogen car has five key elements:

•    A lightweight network electric vehicle constructed from carbon composites and powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

•    Open source design and development. Riversimple will invite the community to help develop its vehicles, by licensing its designs to the independent open source foundation 40 Fires.

•    A service concept – we will lease cars not sell them. This aligns the interests of the manufacturer with the interests of the consumer and of the environment – everyone wants cars that have a long life span with maximum efficiency and minimum materials usage.

•    Distributed manufacturing – The economies of scale of carbon composites frames are very different from those of steel-bodied vehicles. Riversimple vehicles are likely to be produced in small factories producing 5,000-10,000 vehicles per year. This allows for considerable local variation in the car.

•    Broader ownership – The corporate structure of Riversimple is designed to ensure that all stakeholders in the enterprise have a fair say and share in the benefits of a successful business.

Fact sheet

Weight:                    350 kg
MPG:                        c. 300 mpg equivalent in energy terms
Greenhouse gas emissions:    c. 30g/km (well to wheel) in the urban cycle with hydrogen produced from natural gas
Top Speed:              50 mph
Acceleration             0 – 30 mph in 5.5 seconds
Range:                       240 miles
Lifespan:                   15-20 years
Service Intervals:    Annual

Riversimple projects that it will have 10 cars in operation by next year and that the vehicle will be available in the retail market (at least in the U.K.) by 2012. All Riversimple vehicles will be leased with a monthly rental of £200 ($330) plus 15 pence (25 cents) per mile to cover the cost of fuel and engine maintenance.

Tags: 40 fires, fuel cell, hydrogen car, riversimple, riversimple hydrogen car, uk