Hydrogen cars 'to be tested on British roads'

LONDON: British automobile engineers have designed hydrogen fuel-cell powered cars which they claim will be tested on UK roads by the public for the first time.

The two-seater car, which weighs only 350 kg and can recapture its own motion energy when braking, providing 80 per cent of the power needed for acceleration, has been developed by a team at Riversimple, a small vehicle manufacturer.

The only waste produced by the car is a few drops of water, say its developers.

Thirty of the vehicles, which have a top speed of 50 mph and can go 200 miles on one tank of hydrogen, will be leased to motorists in Leicester from spring 2012.

And, if the trials are successful, the company will consider building a factory in Leicester which would employ 250 people and manufacture 5,000 of the cars each year, the British media reported.

The cars would not be sold but instead leased out to drivers for about 200 pounds a month plus mileage. So far the company has spent around 3 million pounds developing the technology and the car, which goes from 0-30mph in 5.5 seconds and does the petrol-equivalent of 300 miles per gallon.

It has now signed a deal with Leicester City Council for a 12-month pilot which will see 30 of the cars rented out to private customers, businesses, car-share schemes and local government officials in the city.

Part of the project involves identifying suitable places for hydrogen pumps for refuelling.