A two-seater hydrogen car designed for local driving is to be built in the UK.
The production prototype car, being built by Riversimple Engineering in Llandrindod Wells, Wales where the company has opened its new R&D headquarters, will be powered by a combination of hydrogen fuel cell and regenerative braking system.
It will be capable of travelling at up to 60 miles per hour, with an energy efficiency equivalent to 240 miles per gallon.
The car, which is being designed by Chris Reitz, previously design director at Fiat and Alfa Romeo, is equipped with an electric motor in each wheel to recapture energy from braking. The energy will be stored in a bank of super-capacitors to provide 80 per cent of the power needed for acceleration.
This means the fuel cell itself can be much less powerful, with an output of 8kW compared to the 85kW devices used in most prototype hydrogen cars, said Hugo Spowers, technical director and founder of Riversimple.
Consequently, the fuel cell will be much lighter, and with no gearbox or transmission system, the overall weight of the powertrain will be significantly reduced, said Spowers. “If the whole powertrain is lighter you can also have a much lighter structure, which has a knock-on effect in reducing the amount of power you need,” he said.
The car will be built with a strong but lightweight carbon fibre shell, he said. “We are aiming for a complete vehicle weight of 520 kilograms.”
Using a low power fuel cell also allows Riversimple to keep costs down, according to Spowers. That is because the cost of a fuel cell rises directly in line with the amount of power it produces, meaning doubling the output will double the cost of the device. “We can have a much simpler and cheaper fuel cell, which will still provide enough power for our car.”
The car will have a range of 300 miles, and be capable of accelerating from 0-50 miles per hour in eight seconds. The prototype will be built with funding from the Welsh government.
If the vehicle achieves certification and goes into production, Riversimple plans to build 5,000 cars each year, creating 220 jobs in the process. The company will retain ownership of the cars, which will be leased and reused. Customers will pay a single monthly fee covering the cost of the vehicle, as well as its maintenance, insurance and fuel, said Spowers.
8kw may save cost, but when you show it a hill (especially those around Wales), will it get to the top, or is it drive part the way up, stop, wait for the caps to recharge and carry on.
They had this problem with the Chevy Volt (Vauxhall Ampera), they had to fit a much larger engine to compensate for edge conditions when the batteries are completely flat.
Possibly why it is marketed as ‘City’ car, still plenty of hills in Wales though…
Historically interesting, because the inventor of the fuel cell, Sir William Robert Grove, was a Welshman.
The WDA and the WAG both have an unenviable record for backing losers with public money and putting promising innovative companies out of business. Let’s hope they get it right for once, but don’t hold your breath. The Techniums consumed £150m of EU funds.
“The Welsh government has stopped funding six of the 10 Welsh ‘techniums’ saying they were not delivering value for money or creating enough jobs.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-15526971
“Last year the Welsh government said it was closing the techniums at Aberystwyth, Baglan, Bangor, Pembroke Dock, Llanelli and the Sony plant in Bridgend.” (2011)
The WDA and the WAG should have known in 2003 that their business ‘incubation’ premises were the wrong model for seeding innovation, but they wouldn’t listen to reason. My MP, Swansea and Cardiff universities, the Welsh Automotive Forum, the Wales Innovators’ Network and Technium Performance Engineering were all in a position to correct the mismanagement, but were ignored.
Didn’t they shut down all the hydrogen mines in Wales?
The useful innovation here appears to be the use of supercapacitors rather than the fuel cell. If it’s a city car it would make more sense to use a battery for the main supply – 300 miles range is useful only on intercity journeys.
And four motors at each wheel – 16 in all???
The debate on economic regeneration, public investment and innovation never escapes the descent into political football. Problem is, Labour and the Conservatives both play with the wrong shaped (neoliberal) balls. It’s just a game to them, but it’s a tragedy for Britain.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-28392774
I’m pleased to see the article has been edited (to remove the ambiguity regarding the number of motors!). However, Riversimple would still be well advised to start again from first principles. This could never qualify as “an innovative new architecture” – not by any stretch of the imagination.
4×4 is a foolish design premise. Hub motors incur an obvious weight penalty (never mind the cost) and it’s ALL unsprung weight. We know from experience that any lightweight car on conventional suspension has its dynamics incurably compromised. e.g. the Smart ForTwo. . . Or the 14 year-old Audi A2 that I drive, which jiggles around and suffers damage, because its suspension is incapable of doing its job – absorbing the shock of driving slowly on Welsh roads!
If you have regenerative braking on just two wheels, then a mid-wheel layout is needed to achieve the perfect chassis balance; i.e. NO detrimental effects on your steering dynamics.
If you saved weight with simpler engineering, you won’t need a costly (low production volume) carbon fibre chassis and you may be able to actually sell more than a few thousand cars. Although ultimately we need a mainstream four-seat family car at an affordable price, that does everything well – NOT a city car for work and a ‘proper’ car for weekends!
@ Andy and Neil: The BEV has that problem. I wonder if a Smart ED would get up the 40% Welsh gradient to my front gate with only half its charge left? I’d probably have to rely on a neighbour to recharge it, and walk home with the shopping!
OK firstly Ferdinand Porsche did the electric motor at the wheel thing at the beginning of the 20th century. So nothing really new in this except the packaging of all the components, it looks great and would be a welcome boost to the Welsh economy. What would be good is to develop the fuel cell to be retro fitted to cars such as the Citroen 2cv (560 Kg). 2CV has four seats suitable suspension and there is no pollution cost in producing it.