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Commuting is a big part of everyday life, whether by train, car, or bicycle. Many travelers look to find a greener and more environmentally friendly way to get from point A to point B, but find that cycling can sometimes be too difficult or tiring. Cue the fuel cell bike. Fuel cell bicycles aren\u2019t a new concept, however they haven\u2019t really gained momentum in the consumer market just yet.<\/p>\n
The process of making a fuel cell bicycle for practical use has been relatively difficult, which is perhaps why the market has remained stale. In 2006, a company known as Veloform was developing a methanol fueled three wheeler, which they called the City Cruiser II. Just a year later, a Chinese company, Shanghai Pearl Hydrogen Power Source Technology Co., introduced a hydrogen fuel cell bicycle that cost around $2,600, and had a fuel tank distance of nearly 60 miles.<\/p>\n
The newest generation of fuel cell bicycles comes from a group of students at the University of New South Wales in Australia. The school researchers have developed the Hy-Cycle (pictured at top), a hydrogen fuel-cell bike that boasts an 80 mile fuel tank distance, which roughly equals about $2 worth of hydrogen. The fuel canister has a capacity of 2.5 kilograms, and it may take a little effort to fill, but researchers are now working on ways to increase hydrogen storage capacity.<\/p>\n
The bicycle was designed and built by technical office Paul Brockbank from the University\u2019s School of Chemical Engineering, and associate professor Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou. The hydrogen cell makes climbing hills or long distance commuting easier on travelers by providing assistance with pedaling the bike.<\/p>\n
Since electric bikes are already popular item on the market, critics of the fuel cell bike suggest that it makes more sense to use a battery to power the bike as opposed to hydrogen. However, the fuel cell on the Hy-Cycle can lead to the development of hydrogen powered bicycles to finally make their mark on consumers as a cheap and sustainable form of transportation. Aguey-Zinsou says that a key market for the Hy-Cycle are cities like London and Paris, which are currently renting bikes for hire for business people and the like to commute to and from work.<\/p>\n
The biggest advantage to the Hy-Cycle is the ability to use hydrogen as a clean, sustainable, and safe source of energy. Hydrogen storage has been a researched topic for years, as scientists and engineers try to find a safe and effective method of storing compressed hydrogen. Because hydrogen is a light gas, it\u2019s difficult to contain in a compact form.<\/p>\n
The Hy-Cycle features a 2.5 kilogram canister located near the pedals. The fuel cell is under the seat, and aims to provide continuous recharging to the lithium ion battery that powers the Hy-Cycle. The developers are studying new methods to store 100 liters of hydrogen in the same canister, but while using only 30 grams of metal hydride, which makes for user-friendly and safe storage of the hydrogen fuel.<\/p>\n
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Commuting is a big part of everyday life, whether by train, car, or bicycle. Many travelers look to find a greener and more environmentally friendly way to get from point A to point B, but find that cycling can sometimes be too difficult or tiring. Cue the fuel cell bike. Fuel cell bicycles aren\u2019t a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-electric-bikes"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t