The Newest Fuel Cell Car On The Block

A new alternative fuel car was unveiled in London that breaks many rules on this kind of car design

. The Riversimple fuel cell car was shown to the world and it is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.

In its current design, the Riversimple is not your alternative to your regular mode of transportation, such as a family car or SUV. It is quite small and seats only two people. Secondly, there are no proprietary technologies in this car as this is essentially an open sourced car design platform. This means that all the designs and information for the vehicle would be provided online without cost. Thirdly, compared to other alternative fuel vehicles, this car is dirt-cheap.

The builder of the fuel cell for the Riversimple is Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. According to a statement, "This innovative car could be made available to consumers for just GBP 200 (nearly US$ 315) per month." This is a great departure from current leasing or purchase costs of other high-end technology vehicles. For example, the Mini E costs $850 per month in a year and a Honda FCX Clarity is $600 per month for three years. While there are differing fuel platforms, the cost beats the competition eating the Riversimple's dust.

The company also goes against the grain, as it plans to lease the car to prospective customers by 2013. The car is able to travel 240 miles on a charge of its one kg hydrogen tank. It can travel up to 50 mph due to its ultracapacitors and a 6 kW fuel cell. In a statement, the company said that the car has an efficiency equivalent of 300 miles to a gallon.

The recently unveiled prototype utilizes a network of small fuel cells to power four motors, one assigned per wheel. The next question would be its availability but because of its open source model platform, the technical specifications can be done right in your own garage with your own vehicle.

Riversimple is a UK based transportation company with the goal of producing environmentally conscious vehicles. Founded by former car engineer and racecar driver Hugo Spowers, the company's car portfolio includes the Morgan LIFEcar and the Riversimple Urban Car.

The Morgan LIFEcar is a fuel cell electric vehicle project done in conjunction with the Morgan Motor Company. Aside from Riversimple, participants in the project is QinetiQ, a British defence technology company in cooperation with Cranfield University and the University of Oxford funded through government grants. The idea for the Lightweight Fuel Efficient Car, hence LIFEcar, is a sports car that is also environmentally responsible with the ability to deliver high performance.

On the other hand, the Urban Car is a two-seater car about the size of the popular Smart car. The vehicle weighs in at 772 pounds and is made entirely of carbon fiber composite material. The Urban car converts hydrogen into electrical power and produces as a byproduct water. This is done through decoupling of acceleration from cruising and mass decompounding.

by: Bobby Castro

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