Fhybrid Hydrogen Powered Scooter
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin 
on 07.29.06
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.
The design certainly stands out from the standard scooter "look". I'll leave it to the TreeHugger commenters to pronounce their opinions on whether Bouman has achieved his goal of a design which will sell the technology it will someday contain. As co-founder of Epyon, the TU-Delft spin-off company which will certainly look to push this project to market, Bouman must be hoping for a broad appeal. Now ::WorldChanging and TU Delft
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- 8 Fun Green Ways to Manage Stress (Kissing is One of Them)
- DIY Puzzle Piece Friendship Necklace
- 5 Reuses for CDs: Turn Old CDs into New Geek Gear
- Your Idle Computer Can Save Lives
- Green Glossary: Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
- French Pressed Coffee: A Surprisingly Green Luxury, On the Cheap
Vectrix is offering something similar, if not better:
http://www.vectrixusa.com/
The Vectrix has a higher top speed (62 mph), the same regenerative brakes and the same reversing capability. It has less range (62 miles at 25 mph), but I doubt I'd want to travel 124 miles at 40 mph anyway.
How much does the energy equivelant to a gallon of gas cost? I think an electric scooter would be better.
I agree that the electric scooter would be better. You have to fuel hydrogen vehicles with hydrogen. You get hydrogen from electrolysis. Fuel cells are like batteries except instead of plugging them in you need a hydrolysis station to refuel them. If the choice is setting up a home electrolysis station or just plugging in a battery then i chose the latter. It is way more convenient and practical for this scooter to just run on a battery.
If there is some easier way to get hydrogen then let me know.
I like this futuristic styling though...
Unless I misread this, this is an electric scooter with a box where the hydrogen motor *would* go, if it existed?
So all I have to do to make "news" with a hydrogen powered vehicle is to point to the conventional gasoline motor and say, "that will be hydrogen someday."
And the headline is "Hydrogen Powered Scooter" ??? C'mon! This is totally mislabeled. When it comes to hydrogen technology, this bike is *nothing*.
Where can i buy the kit or the engine and how much would it cost me??
==auth. note==
I am sorry that TreeHugger cannot offer the information you request. You might try to go directly into contact with the developer of the Fhybrid via the University.
bio-hydrogen is also produced as a biogas using anerobic digesters of green waste and animal waste management. There's a commercial-sized test project underway in partnership with Onsite Power and a Dr. Huang that went live in 2006.
Given the whole "hydrogen highway" concept that CA is embarking on, this might be a solid niche market for this type of bike.
bio-hydrogen is also produced as a biogas using anerobic digesters of green waste and animal waste management. There's a commercial-sized test project underway in partnership with Onsite Power and a Dr. Huang that went live in 2006.
Given the whole "hydrogen highway" concept that CA is embarking on, this might be a solid niche market for this type of bike.