Originally published October 16 2005
Concept car could mean a hydrogen fuel cell sports car within three years
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Morgan Motor Company, QinetiQ, Cranfield and Oxford Universities, BOC and OSCar recently unveiled plans to develop the LIFECar, which will be an ultra-quiet sports car with exhaust systems that produce only water vapor, and GizMag reports it could be available within 3 years.
A wholly British partnership yesterday unveiled plans to develop the world's first environmentally clean sports car, powered by a fuel cell which converts hydrogen into electricity.
The partnership is made up of legendary British sports car manufacturer, the Morgan Motor Company, QinetiQ, Cranfield and Oxford Universities, BOC and OSCar.
The new vehicle, known as LIFECar, will be ultra quiet and its exhaust systems will produce only water vapour.
Part-funded by the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), LIFECar is a two and half-year long project which marks a step change in vehicle power technology, producing a combination of performance, range and fuel economy that will be essential to the motoring world of the future.
LIFECar will be based on the Morgan Aero Eight, and is powered by a QinetiQ-made fuel cell, which converts hydrogen -- and oxygen taken from the air around it -- into electrical energy.
The key to delivering this step change in energy efficiency lies in a combination of factors, including weight reduction and a different design approach.
Speaking at this year's Society of Motor Manufacturers International Business Group, where the plans were unveiled, Charles Morgan, corporate strategy director of the Morgan Motor Company and LIFECar project director, said: "This is a project which captures the imagination.
BOC Developing the hydrogen refuelling plant Cranfield University Systems simulation, on-board computing and control of the fuel-cell hybrid powertrain.
When the hydrogen molecules come into contact with the negative electrodes, the molecules split into protons and electrons.
The protons are then carried across the proton exchange membrane to the positive electrode of the fuel cell whilst the electrons travel around the external circuit as electricity.
Dr Malcolm McCulloch of Oxford University: "It is obvious that in our transition to a sustainable society we will have to adopt electric power for cars, and they will have to be very efficient ones at that.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml