Scientists from the University of New South Wales in Australia have developed a Hy-Cycle, a bicycle that is able to take users up to 125 kilometers on $2 of hydrogen and a single battery charge.

The bicycle, which was built by technical officer Paul Brockbank from the School of Chemical Engineering and associate professor Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou, has a hydrogen fuel cell that helps the rider climb up hills or travel long distances by providing electrical assistance while pedaling. The cell could also make the bicycle a cheap and sustainable form of transport.

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"Cities such as London and Paris are trying to provide fleets of bicycles that people can hire for a few hours a day to commute to and from work," the associate professor said. "This is a key market for the Hy-Cycle."

The main innovation in the Hy-Cycle is the application of hydrogen as a safe and clean source of energy.

"What we've been trying to develop in my lab is a new way to store hydrogen in a very compact fashion," the associate professor said. "Hydrogen storage can be a problem because it's a light gas, but with the material and technology we've developed you can actually make it safe to store and use."

The bicycle's hydrogen is contained in a 2.5-kilogram canister that is placed near the pedals. The fuel cell found under the seat of the Hy-Cycle utilizes the hydrogen in the canister and continuously recharges a Lithium-ion battery on the bicycle.

The basic metal hybride present inside the hydrogen canister allows for a user-friendly and safe storage of the fuel.  While approximately 100 liters of the hydrogen can be stored in one kilogram of the standard metal hybride, Aguey-Zinsou and his team at the Material Energy Research Laboratory is busy developing new borohydrides able to store the same amount of the fuel on only 50 grams of the hybride.

TagsHydrogen power, power, Electricity, electricity use, Hydrogen, Bicycle, transport, Australia, technology