Fuel cell Microcab goes for trial
The British Government has funded a trial of five hydrogen fuel cell powered “Microcabs” to carry passenger round Birmingham from some time next year
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The vehicle is the brainchild of University of Coventry senior lecturer John Jostins. 3m long, the vehicle is compact but still has enough room for a wheelchair and user and can cover 100 miles on a full tank of hydrogen – a typical day’s usage for a city centre.
It gas been shortlisted for the Lord Stafford Award for Enterpreneurial Spirit, the winner of which will be announced at an awards dinner at the NEC on November 15th. Lord Stafford, patron of the awards, said: “John has spent years on this project which he is clearly passionate about and is now on the brink of making it a marketable product. The Entrepreneurial Spirit award seeks to recognise exactly this sort of drive, passion and determination and the combination of innovation and enterprise which can, genuinely, change the world.”
The first 20 vehicles will be built by a consortium of mostly West Midlands based companies. Further vehicle designs are planned to add a number of variants to the range. The plan is to produce 1,500 vehicles per year by 2012.
For more information: http://www.microcab.co.uk and http://www.lordstaffordawards.com
