A fleet of hydrogen fuel cell cars that emit nothing but water will be trialled by UK drivers from 2012.
The unusual two-seat city car was designed and developed by British company Riversimple. It's lightweight, capable of 50mph and can travel up to 200 miles on a tank of hydrogen, giving it the equivalent of 300mpg economy.
Drivers in the Leicestershire area will be invited to lease the car for around £200 per month. An additional usage cost of around 15p per mile will be added.
The aim of the trial, involving 30 cars over a one-year period, is to test the viability of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source.
Hydrogen is cheap, abundant in supply and emits only water when used as fuel. For those reasons there are already a number of major manufacturers running hydrogen prototypes.
However, hydrogen is difficult to store in cars because it needs a high strength tank. On top of that there's no fuelling infrastructure in the UK.
But if the 30-car trial proves successful, and a workable network of fuelling stations can be set up, the company will seek to expand production. It aims to build a factory producing 5,000 cars per year, based in the UK and employing around 250 people.
Riversimple was founded by racing driver Hugo Spowers, who claims to have left the sport due to concerns about motorsport's environmental impact. His company aims to produce a four-seat hydrogen car, capable of higher speeds, by 2015.
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