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The efficient design of Riversimple’s hydrogen fuel cell powered urban car was illustrated in Fuel Cell Power this summer. In order to meet the requirements for more flexible transport systems around the world as oil and other resources become more expensive and in short supply, Riversimple has outlined a new type of business strategy. They believe that replacing present car fleets with zero emission vehicles is not a sufficiently ambitious target. An entirely new, integrated, zero carbon transport infrastructure is needed, both in the UK and to meet the growing needs of developing countries.
NEW BUSINESS STRATEGY
As well as their revolutionary car design, their new business strategy will have four innovative elements.
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Riversimple will lease vehicles at a cost of about £200 per month which includes fuel, plus 15p per mile for other costs. They will maintain and service the vehicles and at the end of their useful lifetime, the materials will be recycled. The vehicle bodywork will be made from composite fibres with a lifetime up to 20 years and 90% of the components of the fuel cells can be reconditioned. Their aim is 100% recyclability with no waste but only by-products. The traditional model of selling cars dissuades manufacturers from building cars with long lives and low running costs. This contributes to high resource use and expensive maintenance costs plus the problem of disposing of the scrap car. The leased vehicle must be as economical as possible to service and must be easily disassembled so that parts can be reused and materials recycled. Redesigned components will be retrofitted in order to ensure continuous improvements in efficiency. Although leasing the vehicles will mean that the return on investment takes longer than for conventional businesses, there will be greater stability, with long term income streams from monthly payments and the valuable raw materials which will be recycled.
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Riversimple’s design will be open source, with information shared through the website of the 40 Fires Foundation, so that they can continually improve the vehicle and encourage uptake of the technology. This will mean that manufacturers do not have to maintain their own expensive team of development engineers, but can obtain a production license and only have to contribute about $10 for each vehicle they manufacture. At present the conventional design process is not only expensive but naturally precludes others from contributing to and adopting innovations. Riversimple’s open source approach is a vital component to speed the change away from the internal combustion engine and to establish the completely new standards that are essential if we are to develop sustainable transport.
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Manufacturing will be distributed, with smaller regional centres, producing around 5,000 cars per annum, established around the world. It is possible to manufacture cars from composite materials with less financial risk, as the heavy, expensive machine tools needed to make steel bodies are unnecessary.
Capacity can be increased incrementally and the manufacturing process can be more responsive to market demand, meeting the requirements of different countries.
The factories will sell a personal transport service, not simply act as a showroom for the cars. They should be near where the vehicles will be used, so that manufacturing can be combined with upgrading and recycling and vehicles can be customized for local markets. The factories themselves will be as sustainable as possible, with low energy processes, on site renewable electricity generation, the use of recycled materials, raw materials sourced locally and access to an integrated transport system.
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Stakeholders will be equal partners with a long term involvement in the success of their work. As a Limited Liability Partnership the interests of founders, investors, the environment, the staff, neighbours and customers will be represented. This structure gives the freedom to take the long view and push the boundaries of what can be done to reduce environmental impacts.
BUILDING A ‘GREEN’ HYDROGEN INFRASTRUCTURE
The use of hydrogen is important because it will decouple our refuelling infrastructure from oil and enable vehicles to use energy from almost any source. Depending on what they have available, different regions of the world could use solar, wind, marine or waste resources. Hydrogen can be generated locally and does not require extensive mining and transport to get it to where it can be used. A large 5 megawatt wind turbine could provide sufficient hydrogen to power about 9,000 of Riversimple’s urban cars travelling on average 6,000 miles per year.
 MOTORISTS SEE ADVANTAGES OF FUEL CELLS
Riversimple exhibited their Mk 1 urban vehicle at the Green Motor Expo in the London Borough of Camden in September. This gave an opportunity for motorists and fleet managers to discover the environmental and cost benefits of using clean fuels and technology in central London. Gail Porter hosted the event and can be seen in the car.
1 kg of hydrogen, stored in a tank weighing 15.8 kgs, will give the car a range of about 240 miles. The car will therefore require far less hydrogen than the prototype vehicles being developed by the conventional motor industry, which means that less hydrogen is required at each refill, the rate of filling is lower and potentially the pressure is lower. All these factors reduce the capital investment required for refuelling stations.
According to BOC and its parent company Linde “A real achievement of the Riversimple concept is that it represents a step change in the efficient use of hydrogen fuel. This allows much greater use to be made of it in urban situations while the refuelling infrastructure is being installed. As leaders in hydrogen technology, we are developing processes that will produce hydrogen from renewable sources, which will make hydrogen vehicles a truly ‘green’ transport option.” www.riversimple.com www.40fires.org |
