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Editor@RubberMag.com |
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 World's
First Fuel Cell Motorcycle Unveiled
British company Intelligent Energy
today unveiled ENV, the world's first purpose-built, fuel-cell
motorbike - ahead of any of the world's leading automotive companies.
The ENV bike is the creation of Intelligent Energy, a British
energy solutions company, whose board includes Chairman Sir John
Jennings, the former Chairman of Shell Transport and Trading.
The ENV (Emissions Neutral Vehicle) bike was designed to Intelligent
Energy's brief by a British team, led by multi-award-winning
designers Seymourpowell. The ENV bike is fully-functioning and
has been engineered and purpose-built (based around Intelligent
Energy's CORE fuel cell) from the ground up, demonstrating the
real, everyday applicability of fuel cell technology. The CORE,
which is completely detachable from the bike, is a radically
compact and efficient fuel cell, capable of powering anything
from a motorboat to a small domestic property.
The ENV bike is different. It offers an exhilarating glimpse
of what can be achieved: a great-looking and exciting fuel-cell
motorbike. "In the none-too-distant future", commented
Intelligent Energy CEO Harry Bradbury, "people will be able
to use a bike like ENV to leave work in an urban environment,
drive to the countryside, detach the CORE and attach it to another
vehicle, such as a motorboat, before going on to power a log
cabin with the very same fuel cell, which could then be re-charged
from a mini hydrogen creator, the size of a shoebox."
The ENV motorcycle
ENV is lightweight, streamlined and aerodynamic. In an urban
or off-road environment, it can reach speeds of 50 mph. It is
also virtually silent (with noise emissions equivalent to an
everyday home computer) and its emissions are almost completely
clean. On a full tank, the ENV bike could be used continually
for up to four hours without any need for re-fuelling. The bike
can also be used by riders of any skill level with simple controls,
via a throttle directly linked to the applied power. The bike
has no gears and is strictly defined as a motorbike, although
it feels to riders more like a very quick and responsive mountain
bike. "ENV is light, fast and fun", commented Seymourpowell
director Nick Talbot. "It has good ground clearance, great
off-road suspension travel and a very carefully considered power
to weight ratio. I have ridden motorbikes for years", he
added, "and, in the process of designing the bike, I have
become a convert to fuel cell technology. The bike is usable,
useful and great-looking. It was important on this project to
demonstrate that new technologies don't have to be wrapped up
in a dull product engaging public imagination and enthusiasm
is key."
ENV has been produced in two monochromatic colourways: black
supergloss and iridescent white. 'This was to express the bike's
parallel natures', explained Nick Talbot. "On the one hand,
it expresses a utopian future vision of clean power, anywhere
- and on the other, it's an exciting, hard-edged bike and fun
to ride."
The bike's primary frame and swinging arm are made from hollow-cast
aircraft grade aluminium. At the bike's heart is a fully-integrated
1kW fuel cell generator providing power on demand directly to
the drive-train. To enhance performance during peak power demand
(ie when accelerating), the fuel cell is hybridised with a battery
pack to provide a 6kW peak load to the motor. The result is a
balanced hybrid concept which combines the main advantages of
Intelligent Energy's CORE fuel cell, hydrogen storage and battery
technology."
The design of the CORE
"When it came to designing the casing for the CORE",
commented Seymourpowell's Nick Talbot, "we treated it as
a standalone project, giving this radical fuel cell its due as
a beautiful, valuable and useful energy resource. The CORE, which
can be detached completely from the bike, is therefore designed
to create interest as an enigmatic object. Although mostly encased
in identical aluminium to the bike, of which it at first seems
a completely integral part, the CORE is also part-covered on
one plane in a micro-etched, textured and durable shell, in a
pattern derived from brain coral. The pattern alludes to the
fact that this is solid state technology but is also functional,
in that the intricate patterns also disperse heat. We wanted
this to be a finer and more beautiful object than, say, a diesel
generator - and to make people look again at this new technology
with a sense of wonder."
"The launch of ENV breaks new ground and opens up a whole
new field of opportunities for low- and high-power fuel cell
motorbikes,' commented Harry Bradbury. 'ENV and its successors
are good for the consumer and the environment. This is a fun
vehicle with a realistic role to play in the leisure environment,
as well as a role in emissions reduction from Boston to Bangkok.
There has been much talk about low-carbon emission vehicles.
Here is one at last."
Key Components of the Bike Power System
Motor - 6kW, 48 VDC Brush motor (model LEM-170, supplied by LMC)
Motor Controller - Brusa Direct Current (model MD 206)
Fuel Cell - 1kW Intelligent Energy air-cooled (2 x AC32-48)
Hydrogen Storage - High pressure carbon composite cylinder (Luxfer
L65)
Hydrogen Energy - 2.4kWeh
Storage Battery - 4 x 12V Lead Acid (15Ahr) connected in series
Performance Data
Acceleration - 0 20 mph in 4.3s (32kph), 0 30 mph
in 7.3s (48 kph), 0 50 mph in 12.1s (80kph)
Top speed - 50 mph (80kph) (note: ENV has been tested to 50mph
however, with further refinements and redevelopments, this
top speed is expected to be exceeded)
Range - At least 100 miles (160km)
Physical
Bike mass - 80 kg (Total mass including CORE)
Fuel
Hydrogen - 99.9% purity
Oxygen - Taken from air
Hydrogen refuel time less than 5 minutes
Interface
Electrical connection - Multi-core (Intelligent Energy specific)
(courtesy: Fuel Cell Today)
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