The new car built by manufacturer, Riversimple has been on display in the museum’s new gallery "atmosphere.... exploring climate science". It is thought that the two-seater vehicle could be on British roads within two years.
Hugo Spowers, the founder of Riversimple said: “Many of the most iconic pieces of machinery in our island’s history are in the Science Museum and this is a tremendous honour for us. The new industrial revolution, in which we move from fossil fuel dependency to a sustainable economy, is underway and we are proud that our contribution has been recognised.”
The cars which have a top speed of 50 miles per hour and can go 200 miles on one tank of hydrogen, were first road tested in 2010. It is hoped that they will officially be on British roads by 2012.
The car, which weighs about 350kg, can recapture its own motion energy when braking, providing 80% of the power needed for acceleration. The only waste produced by the car is a few drops of water.
As part of plans to create a sustainable vehicle for use in cities Riversimple, which has so far spent £3 million developing the technology and the car, will lease the vehicles rather than sell them.
Drivers will pay approximately £200 a month and then 15p a mile as part of a business model similar to a mobile phone contract.
Riversimple hopes that by 2015 it will have manufactured a four-seater version of the car which can be used safely on long journeys. By 2020, it plans to have tens of thousands of the cars of British roads.
Green cars are capturing the public's interest in a large scale. Another way to reduce your carbon footprint is to consider buying a used car. Compared to a new car, it has a much lower footprint of grey energy. Even though producing new cars has become much more efficient these days, it still consumes huge amounts of resources.