The Alter Bike is a fuel cell electric bicycle that has no need for plugs and sockets.
Electric bicycles, or pedelecs, do not have the same requirement for recharging infrastructure as electric cars – after all, if you run out of juice, you just pedal home – but every electric vehicle (EV) benefits from increased autonomy, and the fuel can help.
Fuel cells are not a new idea – they were invented in 1838, which makes them almost exactly the same age as the bicycle.
A fuel cell converts the energy from a fuel (like Hydrogen) into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen. Fuel cells require a constant source of fuel to sustain the chemical reaction, but unlike batteries, which eventually go flat, they can produce electricity for as long fuel and oxygen are supplied.
Hydrogen fuel for the Alter Bike is stored in small cartridges. Its range is limited only by the number of cartridges you carry.
No word on the price or availability of the Alter Bike, but you can see more of it here:
David Futter
Except of course the big barrier to cycle uptake in the UK is that you don’t get wet in a car when it rains. When will the “cyclepod” come along which is sealed from the weather, and from the spray coming up off the wheels? With electric propulsion this could become viable.
As a committed all weather cycle commuter it doesn’t really bother me, but not everyone is prepared to arrive at their destination like a drowned rat.
Simon Bailey
In response to David Futter: “cyclepods” exist, they’re officially called “velomobiles” and are available in various styles. Many are sleek and sporty (good for fast cruising on Dutch cycle paths, although rather too low to the ground for commuting amid traffic here in the UK) but more practical examples are also available, some with electric assist. See information here http://www.weathervelo.com/Contact.html or the more comprehensive listing here http://velomobiles.co.uk/data/completemanufacturerlist.php