Life CarThe BBC Reported yesterday about a new hydrogen fuel cell car called the Lifecar.

Built by a consortium of companies including Morgan, the Lifecar will be based on their classic sports car shape, updated for extreme aerodynamics and very very light. They are aiming to have the car weigh less than 700kg, essential to produce reasonable performance while maintaining longevity from the fuel cells.

The car hasn’t been driven yet, but the company reckons top speed will be around 90mph and a range of approximately 250 miles per tank (of hydrogen).

Certainly it is an interesting concept but they have still used non-renewable products in the build of the car:

  • Lightweight wood for the interior. Surely they would be better off using man-made products such as fibreglass or carbon fibre?
  • It’s all very well using hydrogen, but as pointed out in the report:

    Critics point out that to produce hydrogen by splitting water uses a large amount of electricity. At present, the majority of this electricity comes power stations burning fossil fuels and therefore brings no environmental benefit.

  • There’s also very little infrastrucure at this time for easy re-fuelling. Yes, bus companies and the like with a central depot have no issue currently, but what about the man on the street? You can’t exactly drive into your local Shell or Esso and ask for “a tank full of hydrogen please”. Hell, it’s difficult enough to find somewhere in the UK that sells vehicle LPG!

    • The car is very much a concept at the moment, so perhaps by the time it is affordable and actually in production then the above obstacles will have been overcome. In the meantime, you can read the BBC report here and more information and pictures on the Morgan website.