Fhybrid Hydrogen Powered Scooter

July 29, 2006 08:55 AM - Christine Lepisto, Berlin

Will Crijn Bouman of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands be a name to remember in green design? If his graduate project is any indication, his head is in the right place. As an Industrial Design student at TU Delft, Bouman created a prototype hydrogen powered scooter, which he calls the Fhybrid. The Fhybrid tops out at 65 km/hr (40mph) and has a range of 200 km (124 miles)--the range is extended due to energy recovery during braking. Acceleration is better than the average traditional scooter. The perfect city flitzer, this bike emits no noise nor fumes. It is driven by a 69 Nm motor in the front wheel, and has a unique parking assist capability: the scooter can be powered slowly in reverse to aid slotting it into that last tight spot on city streets. That's the theory at least.
In practice, the prototype currently runs on a Lithium-ion battery, which is unfortunately not yet recharged by the hydrogen fuel cell simulator which is currently built into the bike. The University is working on developing the hydrogen engine to make the protoype fulfill the intentions of its designer. Bouman explains:
A special course and various permits are required to build a hydrogen-powered engine. It wasn't possible to achieve this during the time period of my graduation project.


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