A car that can help to grow food has been unveiled as part of an exhibition in London to promote hydrogen fuel cell technology.
At the heart of the Fuel Cell Farm, an exhibition at London’s Design Museum, is a Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell. The water produced by the hydrogen-powered car is filtered and pumped into a fish tank. The minerals from the fish waste are then used to grow plants.
Aquaponics is a sustainable farming solution; a combination of hydroponics (growing plants in water) and aquaculture (raising fish in tanks). Taking the water vapour emitted by the ix35 Fuel Cell, the Fuel Cell Farm condenses it into water which then filters into the fish tank – the aquaponics technology harnesses the minerals from the fish waste to grow vegetables on the farm.
These innovative cars combine compressed hydrogen gas with oxygen from the air to create electricity, with a by-product of water. Hyundai then filtered this water and pumped it into a fish tank, where the fish added nutrients to the water. That water was then fed to the plants, creating what Hyundai called “it’s own ecosystem”.
Hyundai is the first car company to assembly-line produce fuel cell vehicles and, to help London achieve its objective of becoming one of the major hydrogen capitals of the world, plans to deliver five emission-free ix35 Fuel Cells to the Greater London Authority.
Image Credit: hyundai.co.uk
Why Hydrogen?
Hydrogen is the key to a future of sustainable motoring. Making up approximately 75% of the universe we live in, it’s in abundance compared to the finite fossil fuels used by combustion engine cars. The process of passing hydrogen through a fuel cell creates energy much more efficiently than the chemicals used in gasoline. It can also store the energy it creates unlike the electricity needed to power electric cars.
Finding an infinite and efficient resource for powering cars is essential. However, the most important reason to develop hydrogen fuel cell technology is that each vehicle produces zero exhaust emissions. With only clean and recyclable by-products emitted through driving, the result is a sustainable motoring future.
