British Partnership Developing Sports Car

A wholly British partnership including QinetiQ, British sports car manufacturer Morgan Motor Co., Cranfield and Oxford Universities, BOC, and OSCar, plans to develop the world’s first fuel cell sports car.

Based on the Morgan Aero Eight, LIFECar will be powered by a QinetiQ-made proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The car’s power system will produce significant improvements over current prototype vehicles, with the fuel cell powering four separate electric motors, one at each drive wheel. The key to delivering this change in energy efficiency lies in a combination of factors including weight reduction and a design approach that exploits opportunities to reduce energy losses and requirements.

Regenerative braking and surplus energy will be used to charge ultra-capacitors, which will release their energy when the car is accelerating. This architecture will allow the car to have a much smaller fuel cell – providing a 24kW cruising speed as opposed to the 85kW proposed by most competitor systems.

The two-and-a-half-year project will cost £1.9m and involve a mix of industry and Department for Trade and Industry funding. BOC will develop the hydrogen refueling plant. Cranfield University Systems will be responsible for simulation; on-board computing and control of the fuel-cell hybrid powertrain; and analysis of the integrated design process used. Morgan Motor Co. will provide the car platform and assemble the final concept car. Oxford University will undertake the design and control of the electric motors. OSCar will be responsible for the overall system design and architecture.