As we move ever closer to the ban on sales of petrol and diesel vehicles, the need for recharging infrastructure looks likely to hamper the uptake of electric cars – particularly in urban areas. It’s the reason fuel cell vehicles may hold the answer.
Using hydrogen as a fuel for electric vehicles does away with the need for battery charging infrastructure – an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen produces electricity to power a motor. These so-called fuel cell vehicles can travel longer distances than electric vehicles that need to be re-charged directly from a mains supply.
The Alpha Neo promises to be the world’s first hydrogen-powered bicycle. Developed and produced in France, the Alpha Neo electric-assist bike claims a refuelling time of less than two minutes and a range of up to 145 km.
The Alpha Neo is an interesting design but as it makes its way towards market, we can’t help but think it doesn’t represent the ideal application of the technology. After all, electric bicycle are easy to recharge from a household supply; the battery is simply removed and plugged in at the wall.
The Riversimple Rasa is a hydrogen car that aims to radically change the way we think of personal transport; an affordable, hassle free, fun-to-drive eco car. The Rasa is never owned outright. Instead, it is leased like a mobile phone.
Tabula Rasa means ‘clean slate’ in Latin – apt for a vehicle that’s seeking to redefine motorised personal transport. Every aspect of the Rasa has been created for simplicity, efficiency, lightness, strength, affordability, safety and sustainability.
In some respects, the Rasa can be likened to the Citroen 2CV, the iconic workhorse of post-war France. The two cars share a purpose of design, top speed of 60 mph and a weight of around 580 kg, but the Rasa is very much a car for today. Its chassis is a monocoque made from very stiff carbon fibre composites and yet weighs less than 40kg.
Weight distribution is even thanks to four electric motors, one in each wheel. The motors double up as brakes – recovering over 50% of kinetic energy when braking. Super-capacitors store this energy and provide most of the power for acceleration.
Rather than buying the hydrogen car outright or having to set up a hire purchase agreement, a simple pricing structure enables customers to pay a single monthly fee that covers everything – the car, the maintenance, the insurance, the fuel. The rationale is that customers have all the pleasure but none of the hassle of ownership. From the manufacturer’s perspective, it pays to make a car that lasts as long, and runs as well, as possible.
The ethical choice
The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance , breakdown cover and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.
The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK’s most ethical provider.
Keith Reeder
“After all, electric bicycle are easy to recharge from a household supply; the battery is simply removed and plugged in at the wall.”
Kinda missing the point of this, I think – you might take a different view of an electric bike with a 145km range that you can power with water, when you’ve run out of leccy on your normal e-bike miles from home and had to pedal/push the whole way back.
Newer e-bikes are getting better at reducing pedalling resistance when unpowered, but – my God! – some bikes are like:
Riding with two flat tires.
Uphill.
Into a stiff headwind.
Through treacle.
I guarantee that anyone who has suffered that torture will be VERY interested in a bike with the the capabilities outlined here…
David
Don’t mean to be picky, but where are you supposed to recharge the Hydrogen cylinder? Do you have to carry a lumpy adaptor to allow it to be recharged at a fuel station designed for cars? How safe is this bike if it is driven over by an HGV? Presumably the cylinder has to be burned out and retested before going back into service every few years like any other re-usable pressure cylinder.
On top of all that, currently as I understand it, the vast majority of Hydrogen is produced using hydrocarbon fuel – so not really a green alternative at all.
One to avoid for now.
However, the car looks like an interesting concept, subject to the same caveats about its “green” credentials.