Riversimple, a UK based startup has unveiled a hydrogen-powered car called Rasa which claimed to offer 300 miles driving range on 1.5kg of hydrogen.
The company has been building hydrogen fuel-cell project for 15 years and now plans to develop a production-ready, road-legal prototype with which it will start public trial.
The company has already obtained a £2m grant from the Welsh government in 2015.
The company says that it is based on a completely different architecture than conventional cars and has least carbon emissions for any vehicle, emitting just water.
The car weighs 580kgs and it features a carbon composite chassis with only 18 moving parts in the entire powertrain.
The car works by passing hydrogen through a Proton Exchange Membrane in the fuel cell where it combines with oxygen to form water and electricity.
This electricity flows to the 4 motors fitted against each wheel.
The brakes have also been designed such that 50% of braking energy is converted back to electricity and is stored in super-capacitors onboard, which is used for acceleration.
The hydrogen fuel cell on board is a low powered 8.5kW.
The company wants to call it a Network Electric Car because it says that electricity can flow in any direction on any path apart from flowing back into the fuel cell.
The company says that the car only requires a low-powered fuel cell because it has been designed for cruising and not for acceleration. Moreover with 50% of braking energy is used for acceleration, thereby reducing the dependency on the battery.
The company is planning to bring out the vehicle into market as early as 2018 through a 'sale of service' ownership model.
Under the sale of service model, a fixed monthly fee and mileage allowance shall be paid by the customer. The company will cover all the repair, maintenance, insurance and fuel expenses.
According to the service model of purchase, the customers need not buy its car and experience the burden of depreciation. Instead they can lease the vehicle and return it to the company after the end of ownership period, the company added.
Image: Riversimple Hydrogen-powered car Rasa. Photo: Courtesy of Riversimple.
