Hydrogen-fuelled racing car
Naming your vehicle LIFECar is a bold statement. But in the era of climate change, designing a sustainable car based on the fuel cell, the name LIFECar rings true. The project began three years ago when British racing-car designer Hugo Spowers brought together a consortium which included Morgan cars, QinetiQ, the gas company BOC and persuaded the UK government to help fund the £1.9 million project. The resulting light-bodied racing car is based on the Morgan Aero Eight. It is powered by a QinetiQ-made fuel cell, which converts hydrogen – and oxygen taken from the air around it – into electrical energy. It is clean, quiet and economic. Its only emission is water.

Energy optimisation
The car's power system is a major improvement on current fuel cell prototype vehicles, with the fuel cell powering four separate electric motors, one at each drive wheel. To accelerate or climb a hill it draws extra power from a bank of ultra-capacitors aligned down the centre of the car. These are primarily charged by a regenerative braking system which aims to restore 50 per cent of the cars kinetic energy compared to the Hybrid car’s 10 per cent. The car has a range of about 250 miles (400km) and a top speed of around 90mph (145km/h).

LIFECar was at the Geneva Motor Show and Spowers is very pleased with the result. ‘We have done what everybody said we couldn't’, says Spowers. ‘I don't know of a serious fuel cell prototype that is less than 2000 kilos.  Our car is just less than 750 kilos, making a huge difference to the energy efficiency.’

Radical urban mover
Spowers is already busy with his latest prototype for an urban vehicle based on the LIFECar’s principles of sustainability and energy efficiency. ‘It's quite a radical take on urban transport,’ he says and a pilot fleet is planned for 2010/11.

Spowers proposes a unique solution where the manufacturer retains ownership and responsibility for maintenance and fuel costs. It is in their interests, therefore, to make the car as reliable and energy efficient as possible. ‘Instead of the interests of society and manufacturers being opposed,’ says Spowers, ‘we are completely aligning them.’