Linde, Germany’s largest supplier of industrial gas, including hydrogen, already has a number of hydrogen fuel stations, at least one hundred at last count, has developed the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell bicycle.
Bicycles are already emissions-free, provide great exercise, and can be parked anywhere, even in your office. On the other hand, if you want to switch to a bicycle to replace your commuter-car, well, not everyone is up for a 30-mile commute on a bicycle, for which the electric bicycle seems a perfect replacement (as long as the weather holds out). While some argue to the carbon emissions of pedal power and lithium-ion, one company in Germany asks why lithium-ion at all.
That’s right, instead of packing a lithium-ion battery, which is charged off the grid and may or may not be low-emissions, Linde replaced the battery pack with a compact hydrogen fuel cell and tiny hydrogen fuel tank. The resulting hydrogen fuel cell bike runs on pedal power (about 720 mpge) or hydrogen fuel cell. The fuel tank holds 34 grams of hydrogen fuel, which takes about five minutes to refill, giving the “h2-bike” a range of “over 100 km,” with a fuel economy rating of at least 1,827 mpge (if my math was correct). Because Linde’s hydrogen is produced from renewable energy sources, it also has a minimal carbon footprint.
Still, you cannot buy a Linde h2-bike yet, as the company aims to roll out a limited prototype series in what seems to be more of a proof of concept an actual production model. Linde AG CEO Dr. Wolfgang Büchele said “With the Linde H2 bike, we have shown that the benefits of hydrogen drives are not restricted to cars – bikes are another interesting application.” “Interesting applications” aside, would you be interested in riding one if it were to be mass-produced?
