Students Build Hydrogen Vehicle That Gets 1,336 MPG
Turkish students at Sakarya University have built a hydrogen car that gets 1,336 mpg. Well, sorta.
Called the SAHİMO, the vehicle’s current range is about 353 miles on a quarter gallon of fuel (568 kilometers on 1 liter). It travels such an obscene distance with so little fuel due to the vehicle’s uber-light weight: it weighs only 240 pounds (110 kilograms). The car’s made up of 90-percent carbon fiber.
I assume the size and weight limit it to holding only a liter of fuel. I couldn’t verify this as their site is in Turkish and mine is a little rusty.
The SAHMO won third most efficient vehicle in Europe’s 26th Shell Eco Marathon. And their next goal is to conquer the inaugural 2009 Global Green Challengee–an evolution of the World Solar Challenge competition in Australia–this October. About twenty electric, hybrid, alternative fuel and low emission production and prototype vehicles will compete in the race.
Melemez, a fourth-year student in the engineering department at Sakarya University, says “We are hoping to raise our record from 568 kilometers on one liter of hydrogen up to a full 1,000 kilometers on one liter, and we believe we can do it.”
A 3,000 kilometer trek across the Australian Outback on just 3 liters is quite ambitious but I really hope they can pull it off.
But before you think about running out and buying one, the car did cost $170,000 to build.
The 40-member group that developed the SAHIMO hydrogen car is the Sakarya University Advanced Technologies Implementation Group (SAITEM). Today’s Zaman reports that the team hopes to work on a non-piloted aircraft next and is already trying to get support from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).
Source: Inhabitat
Btw, if you’re interested in joining the first mailing list dedicated to bulk purchasing electric cars, check it out (you can also get cheap solar there too).
Wow, new technology is getting scary! So many advances… this car is awesome!
Deep in the heart of every tired-out worker is the wish for a simpler, less expensive life-style, with more time off to grow a simple garden, or otherwise shift for oneself, as opposed to working for “The Man” so many hours! This beautiful concept, a carbon fiber, high mileage car gives hope to an otherwise advertisement controlled life-style. Reducing the larger Americans to body weights comparable to Asians, and adopting India’s all veggie diet alone can solve world population and food supply problems, as much as going Euro-diesel throughout America to resolve the oil crisis, much to the chagrin of the oil companies of course! The more unique solutions we develop, the harder the corporate overlords will try to show us why these innovations are not possible, by lying to us and propaganda skills we yet understand, but there will come a day when H2,O2 from solar power and even urine will be so obviously cheaper, and algae based bio diesel so obviously better, as to shame the detractors of our will to survive in environmental and sustainable favor. They will join in our efforts, work at patenting and profiteering from our innovations ans otherwise load the system in their business favor, but we at least will have gained their support, and the sustainability of our lifestyle will stabilize our population for greater achievements than war! Long live the unsung pioneer researchers and inventors, the deep thinkers and the innovators of our human condition, may they carbon fiber and H2,O2 us to recognizing humanure as a valuable resource flow, may we see the day where offal and sewage from factory farms powers our cars, as in modern-day Sweden and Norway, May we learn to cook on bio-gas from our sewage, like India, and may we reduce our “Beef Habit” along with our Oil Addiction in America and become as civilized as our neighbors through technologies shaming the unregulated vulture capitalists and mis-guided corporations into acknowledging the wiseness of sustainability! The “American Dream” is dead, the new vision yet to emerge, but glimmerings of hope are everywhere, carbon fiber, H2,O2 cars are the faint lights of a new world on this continent, kept burning by science and technology, and hope of the people for the greatness to come from their loins - America at its fourth turning, and about to blossom once again!
Couldn’t they have squeezed out 1 more MPG in order to be 1337? newbs…
Simply great. I am sure stalwarts in the field must have taken serious note of this unbelievable development. It be boost for energy conservation. R & D departments require to work on the technology to bring the same on commercial scale production.
That’s sick! I wish I even could start to think about building something like that… but I don’t have $170,000. I love the carbon fiber and the 1,336 mpg. Just shows what technology, intelligence, and the right materials can get you, even in this rough economy and time of war all around the world.
I’m heartened to see a resurge of interest in hydrogen as a fuel. The fact that you can make it anywhere there is water could liberate the world from its present addiction to fossil fuels.
The $170k price tag to build one is not what it would cost to mass produce the vehicle and offer it to the public. makes you wonder what the automakers are doing sitting on their butts for so long to get more efficient vehicles on the road!
oh so close to 1337
another way for rich people to save money and laugh at those who cant.
Ah, but does it meet crash-test standards?