Fuel-cell cars are not even close to becoming commonplace, but there is an increasing number of companies developing hydrogen fuel-cell technologies for automotive applications. Hydrogen-powered vehicles still have more than a few obstacles in front of them before they can be considered a viable alternative to conventional cars, including lack of refueling stations and high costs.
However, the technology that these vehicles employ advances pretty rapidly, with a new prototype or a production-ready model being introduced on a regular basis lately. The most recent prototype comes from Great Britain, as a Welsh company introduces a fuel-cell vehicle that is imagined as a city car that the regular consumer could afford.
Long Range and Low Emissions
Two of the top advantages of a hydrogen-powered vehicle over a gasoline-powered one are supposed to be its ability to travel greater distances before refueling, and the fact that it is drastically less harmful to the environment.
The prototype in question delivers on both fronts. The car, designed by a Wales-based startup called Riversimple, can travel up to 300 miles on a full tank of hydrogen, and only emits water as a byproduct.
Dubbed “Rasa”, meant to reflect the company’s bid for a fresh start, since it had not put out any product since 2009 when it unveiled a fuel-cell prototype (the name was taken from the Latin phrase “tabula rasa”, which literally means “clean slate”).
The Rasa is powered by an 8.5-kW fuel-cell stack that supplies electricity to the four electric motors installed in each wheel. The company says that it can go from 0 to 60 mph in 10 seconds, and that is also the maximum speed that the car can reach.
Lightweight Body
Thanks to the fact that it features a monocoque body made entirely out of carbon fiber, the Rasa is extremely lightweight, with a total curb weight of just under 1,200 lb. This makes the two-seat coupe ideal for urban driving, and that it’s exactly the purpose that the manufacturer had in mind when designing the Rasa.
Unconventional Sales Model
Rivesimple says that the Rasa will be commercially available by 2018, but consumers will not be able to buy it as they would any other car. The model that Riversimple wants to employ is called “sale of service”, allowing customers to use a car by subscribing and paying a monthly fee that would be fixed, with the company bearing the costs associated with maintenance, repair, insurance, and fuel.
At the end of the use term, customers will be allowed to return the used car and get a new one. The model is meant to reduce ownership costs, which are still very high when it comes to hydrogen-powered cars.
“The Rasa engineering prototype marks another key milestone in bringing an affordable and highly-efficient hydrogen-powered car to market. We really have started from a clean sheet of paper. The Rasa gives us the opportunity to introduce customers to a more convenient concept of motoring, a lightness of ownership that neither places a burden on the pockets of motorists or the surrounding environment. The car is simple, light and fun in every respect,” Hugo Spowers, Founder of Riversimple Movement Ltd.
At the moment, the hydrogen-car market is still in its infancy – but recent developments, such as the introduction of this British prototype, in addition to the great reception of Toyota’s Mirai, and the expected launch of new fuel-cell models by Honda and Hyundai – suggest that the future is bright for these alternative fuel vehicles.