British hydrogen-powered urban car debuts
June 17, 2009 by George Skentzos
A new lightweight hydrogen-powered car has been unveiled in London which promises up to 385km of travel without refuelling and could be put into production by as soon as 2013.
The two-seater Riversimple Urban Car weighs in at just 350 kilograms and a company spokesperson has said they expect it to achieve an average fuel consumption figure of just 0.78 litres per 100km.
Following the technology demonstration at Somerset House the project leaders hope to raise funds to build 10 production prototypes for a long-term test in UK cities.
These cars would be leased rather than sold, with owners receiving a maintenance, support and fuel package over the course of the trial period to determine its suitability as part of everyday life and commuting.
“This will encourage us to produce cars that are robust and long-lasting, and align our interests with the interests of users and the needs of the planet,” a Riversimple spokesman said.
While the size of the Riversimple Urban Car may deter most Australian buyers, the English have gone quite made when it comes to environmentally-friendly transportation, embracing compact city cars such as the all-electric G-Wiz.
The Riversimple Urban Car is powered by four electric motors attached to each wheel , running off a six kilowatt fuel cell compared to the 100kW used in many hydrogen prototypes.
Unfortunately, as with all hydrogen cars, the Riversimple Urban Car lacks the supporting infrastructure necessary for the technology to be used in the mainstream.
“Now that we have the basic vehicle in place with practical technology the challenge is to begin the development of a fuelling infrastructure to accompany it, to encourage the adoption of the sale of mobility service and encourage broad participation in the open source design to make the already practical technology into a broadly adaptable customer proposition.”
Source: DailyMail.co.uk
Print it: 
Ugliest thing ever.
I can’t believe someone got paid to design that!
Looks like the new Mazda 0.5
How very English. Um, unique springs to mind. Looks a bit like the plastic kiddy cars they have at Westfields.
Yep, lets buy a car with no infrastructure to support it. I have seen the G-Whiz cars in London and thought they were odd, but this? Imagine getting his by a large vehicle in one of these!
Might as well go ride a bicycle..sheesh
I’ve also seen Those g-wiz cars whirring around london.
Probably very cheap to run but boy are they cheaply built. The panel gaps are almost an inch big around the door
It is quite ugly, but isn’t it nice that it isn’t electric? It’s also still miles ahead of a G-Wiz. As far as I’m concerned, they need as many different hydrogen cars buzzing around as possible and then over time a network for them will be set up. Everybody knows that the only reason why hydrogen isn’t common is because there is no hydrogen network. Hybrids are a quick fix because petrol is available and thats why they are so popular but this is the real future, just as long as it finds it’s way into other, better cars. I’d like to be able to buy a hydrogen Range Rover by 2020.
No mention of the price/cost, because it will fall over on that count.
Don’t you think that if a cheaper way to move humans in automobiles could be done, the BIG companies would be doing it right now?
A great idea on paper [like diesels] but do the math and its flawed totally on the cost factor.
The vehicle looks high tech. modern and smart, but somewhat small and compromised in size.
Gordon Murray [ex Brahbam and McLaren F1 designer] is making similar.
The future vehicles will be like todays, forget electric and hydrogen, they are dead or tiny tiny players and just a distraction.
I suppose if it makes somebody feel warm and fuzzy its all good, bit like councils paying premium for Prius etc, its only your rates at work……
Cheers
F-0
Should some budding entrepreneur get into Hydrogen synthesis and distribution now or wait a few years yet?
Ah, the bigger picture…
Another waste of time H2 Fuel Cell car. I note there is no price tag so its probably another lease only car!
“but isn’t it nice that it isn’t electric?”
I’ll assume you mean its not battery powered since like all FC Hydrogen cars its fully electric, no ICE what so ever.
” Everybody knows that the only reason why hydrogen isn’t common is because there is no hydrogen network”
And also from an energy stand point, its a pointless technology.
I agree with you Alex.
Whether it is a good car depends purely on the cost to buy and run it.
If it costs more then say a two door Hyundai Getz, $11999 drive away, then it is a joke. The Getz is bigger and more comfortable to own as well I would imagine.
Hey cool! we can edit our posts!!!
“If it costs more then say a two door Hyundai Getz”
Yeah, you know how if you go into a shop and theres no price tag on an item and you therefore have to ask……its expensive!
There’s only a lease cost for this $412AUD per month, this is despite the fact its going into production in 2013.
Compare this with the Honda FCX (Price tag over 1M USD) Lease cost $750AUD per month. So i’d guess maybe 20 times more expensive than Hyundai getz or 2 Tesla roadsters!!
SamR, are you really comparing a drve away Hyundai Getz to a revolutionary hydrogen car that is to be leased? This thing is probably worth about $200,000 and that’s why they shall lease them. It makes quite a lot of sense really. This is about the future, not going on as we have been. Unfortunately, the future costs money. If you ever decide that you want a city car, enjoy your Hyundai.