U.K. Company Riversimple Says It Will Bring an H2-Powered Car to Market by 2012
By Scott Doggett June 16, 2009
Less than two months after the U.S. secretary of energy proposed cutting off federal funding for development of hydrogen cars, claiming their realization was many years away, a European company has announced plans to unveil a hydrogen-powered sedan (pictured
) in the next couple of years.
Hugo Spowers, head of the new U.K. car company Riversimple, said the four-seat urban car will launch by 2012, according to Autocar magazine.
Spowers is quoted as saying that the car will be capable of running at 75 miles per hour with a range of 200 miles between refueling, and it will have a much smaller fuel cell than other models such as Honda FCX.
Riversimple is currently testing its hydrogen technology in a small Smart-sized city car, which weighs just 770 pounds and has a 6-kilowatt fuel cell and a top speed of 50 mph. The prototype manages 240 miles on just 2.2 pounds of hydrogen
Sound too compelling to be true? That's what we thought, but the project has been given much-needed credibility and financial support by Sebastian Piëch, the great-grandson of Ferdinand Porsche.
The way the project is shaping up, small manufacturers will be able to lease the Riversimple design for about $330 a month, and the infrastructure supporting the H2 cars will be developed alongside the vehicles.
Automotive experts at IHS Global Insight say development of the fueling infrastructure parallel to the car's development "provides one of the biggest hurdles for any serious hydrogen-powered passenger car project."
The company plans to lease the cars over 20 years with fuelling included in the leasing cost, and the car could be recycled at the end of its life-cycle.
"There is no doubt that this is a hugely ambitious project," the automotive experts said in a statement, "but the backing of Sebastian Piëch should open doors that would remain closed to other small, ambitious car companies working on alternative powertrain technology."
However, the experts said, it is a brave and bold claim to say that the model will have a smaller, and presumably more efficient, fuel-cell than the Honda FCX, given the Japanese carmaker's track record in developing cutting-edge vehicle technology.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
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Very interesting, and the design itself is quite compelling. These could be used metro area cars bus commuters can rent by the hour, as is done in Seattle. That could be an interim use until H2 is widely available.
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