Black cab goes green

A UK team is developing a zeroemission black cab powered by a high-energy battery pack and small fuel cell.

The London taxi will be fitted with two 40kW high temperature Zebra batteries, which have four times the energy density of a conventional lead acid battery, and a 6kW Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell.

Dr Nigel Schofield, the project’s leader and lecturer in electrical and electronic engineering at Manchester University, will this week present a paper on the project at a conference in Texas.

Combining the two technologies will make the vehicle more technically and commercially viable than a battery or fuel cellonly powered cab, he said. The fuel cell will extend the range of the battery-powered vehicle from around 120km–240km, for a combination of urban and suburban driving.

The sodium nickel chloride battery, meanwhile, will provide the bulk of the energy needed, and allow energy to be recovered from the vehicle’s braking, said Schofield.