Hydrogen Fuel Cell London Taxis
London’s new fleet of five hydrogen fuel cell powered taxis provided by the HyTEC (Hydrogen Transport for European Cities) project have now driven 2500 miles in total, fuelled by the capital’s second hydrogen fuelling station at Heathrow airport.
The first phase of the HyTEC project saw the pioneering fleet of fuel cell electric London Taxis, which were developed by the UK power technology company Intelligent Energy and The London Taxi Company, transport 40 visiting dignitaries and the VIP guests of the Greater London Authority during the Olympic and Paralympic period. High-profile individuals included Arnold Schwarzenegger and Barbara Windsor, with some VIPs undertaking more than one journey in the fuel cell electric taxis. Members of the GLA including Mayor Boris Johnson and Deputy Mayors Kit Malthouse, Munira Mirza and Sir Edward Lister also had the opportunity to ride in the cabs.
The current prototype (made with the help of Lotus Engineering) has a range of 250 miles (400 km) and top speed of over 80 mph (it recently achieved 95 mph at the Millbrook test track). The hydrogen tank can supposedly be refilled in five minutes. Currently £5.5 million has been used to fund the project from the Technology Strategy Board.
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