A group of Japanese students at Osaka Sangyo University took it upon themselves to build a hydrogen car and unveiled it in Tokyo last Friday. They didn’t have the usual support system in place in which to do this.
According to the Mainichi Daily News, “This is the first successful fuel cell electric vehicle project in Japan not backed by a major car company.
“The vehicle was built as part of Osaka Sangyo University’s ongoing research on fuel cells and hydrogen fuel as a potential power source for future generations of automobiles. The students assembled the car in their spare time using parts they bought on the open market.”
This sporty two person car (can anyone guess the make and model used?) has a battery output of 7.5 kW which isn’t a lot plus a top speed of just under 50 mph, which again isn’t a lot.
But, when you consider that the students took this project on themselves without the help of the major car companies, sourced the parts from what are already on the market and were able to build this kind of hydrogen car one has to be impressed.
It is this kind of ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that will move our society forward both technologically and economically. Kudos to the students at Osaka Sangyo University. Let’s hope they have set an example for students and others across the world to fight for the causes you believe in even when the obstacles at first may seem insurmountable.
Thank you for tracking Hydrogen so closely. I am convinced my next car will and should by hydrogen. It will be interesting to see which corporation breaks the mold and really goes all in first. Clearly this is the future. Sweet car, congratulations to those students.
Estimado Victor Manuel, toma la idea de los japoneses y propon tu un projet: fuel cell car at usb.ve
don’t you remember Riversimple from UK?
Javier y Pit no convertiremos en tus padrinos and sponsors.
Thank you Kevin for sharing this article. These Japanese students are just remarkable. More power and may their tribe increase. In Manila, De La Salle students also produced an
electric vehicle sports car & joined the Australian competition last year. I think the Japanese won. Let us shy away from fossil fuel and shift to cleaner vehicles, be it may electric, fuel cell or hydrogen. Let us save mother earth for the next generations to come! ….. VerR.