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Hydrogen-powered car could be built in Peterborough

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Published Date: 11 September 2009
Stephen Briggs
PETERBOROUGH is on the road to becoming the home of a futuristic new car.
Discussions are ongoing as to where the new hydrogen-powered Riversimple car will be built and today manufacturers said that Peterborough was high on the list for a manufacturing base.

The city could also become home to a 50 vehicle pilot scheme i
n 2012 to test how successful the two seater cars would be on the roads.

Peterborough is top of the list because of its close proximity to the Midlands, where Riversimple is based and because of its flat roads.

Chief designer Hugo Spowers said: "We are delighted at the level of support we have received in Peterborough and will certainly look forward to entering further discussions. There will certainly be a case for the plant being in the same region as the pilot scheme."

Using state of the art technology, the car will only produce water emissions – but will still have a range of more than 300 miles per gallon.

The news that Peterborough is still in the running to manufacture and test the new car was welcomed by deputy leader of Peterborough City Council and cabinet member for environment capital and culture councillor Matthew Lee.

Today he said: "Hydrogen-powered cars are the future of the automotive industry and I would be delighted if they could be produced and manufactured in Peterborough. It would be a major boost for the city from a commercial point of view and in our drive to be the UK's environment capital."



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  • Last Updated: 11 September 2009 8:26 AM
  • Source: Peterborough ET
  • Location: Peterborough
 
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1

AliV,

11/09/2009 08:30:23
Hydrogen cars are great however they are useless until we get a proper way of distributing the fuel.

The government needs to encourage car manufacturers to stop reserch on pur electric cars and focus on hydrogen.

Also we need some way to produce the hydrogen (i.e: nuclear).
2

Outcast,

.... Using Ubuntu.... 11/09/2009 09:17:53
River simple.... IIRC that's the Open Source Car.

YAY.. Open Source FTW

Put me down for one !!
3

Fenviking,

11/09/2009 09:48:21
Yes, it would be fantastic for Peterborough but Hydrogen cars are only good for the environment after they're filled up. The environmental cost to manufacture them is massive and as AliV says, need electricity to generate hydrogen for the fuel cells so need way more power stations.

What ever happened to developing a better cycle infrastructure in Peterborough to encourage more cylists? Surely that's the most environmentally friendly way to get to work for short journeys?
4

HotToTrot,

11/09/2009 11:29:37
Every effort should be made to attract this sort of development to the city. This is an industry in its infancy and one with enormous potential, for both the city and the planet. It's a gamble but one that could pay off handsomely in the future. This is the sort of industry that could be the next Perkins in this city and be employing hundreds (possibly even thousands) of local people in years to come. Possibly working with the new university to create world leading technology, who knows?

Marco Cereste, PCC, Opportunity Peterborough et al should be pulling out all the stops to bring such developments to Peterborough.

Fenviking - We need much better local infrastructue - for all forms of transport. Let's face it cars are here to stay. In terms of pollutants and resource efficiency, better traffic flow is needed, stop/start journeys are the most inefficient journeys fuel-wise. Improving our cycleways would help enormously by encouraging more people to use bicycles. Also, employers need to be more cycle friendly e.g. by providing showers and changing facilities at work and by providing secure places to store cycles at work.
5

Ma Hubbard,

11/09/2009 12:58:12
"Marco Cereste, PCC, Opportunity Peterborough et al should be pulling out all the stops to bring such developments to Peterborough."

@HotToTrot (#4) - surely all those are one and the same person? Will Cereste add hydrogen-powered cars to his transport portfolio or will he stick to river taxis and flying saucers?
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The Other Perspective,

P'boro 11/09/2009 16:43:14
It's nice to read comments on here that share a vision of our city growing in a positive way - especially from people such as HotToTrot. I would also love to see the city became a leading manufacturer in these vehicles, and also see a vibrant university growing across the city and helping it become the country's environment capital. What a great vision we could have with river taxis and boats at a mariner on the Nene, with a rejuvenated SOuth Bank. There the sort of comments and people we need in the future, not the depressive doom mongers!
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