So, what will the hydrogen car drivers of the future do when they become either disabled or too old to drive? In steps the H-ergo Piemonte Personal Mobility Vehicle, (rolled out at the SAE World Congress this week), which is a wheelchair powered by hydrogen fuel cell.
The H-ergo is ergonomically designed (and thus the second part of the name) and was built by Italian group From Concept To Car to be used in both indoor and outdoor applications. Parks, shopping malls and airports are just a few of the places one may find a future H-ergo.
The H-ergo uses 800 watt motorized wheels plus fuel cell and enough hydrogen storage for 2 hours of travel (of course many users will need more). The top speed of the H-ergo is around 12.4 mph ergo it won’t be outrunning any criminals, joggers or even skateboarders. But, then again, what wheelchair does?
One can imagine hydrogen-powered vans of the future being equipped for people with disabilities lowering one of these H-ergo Piemonte Personal Mobility Vehicles to the street. The van may also be equipped with hydrogen refueling equipment of swappable hydrogen tanks.
In fact, I can imagine the shopping malls, airports and even parks of the future having miniature hydrogen refueling stations to accommodate vehicles such as the H-ergo. It’s not that farfetched and it’s not that far off either.
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