Hydrogen taxi cabs being tested

• Mar. 8 by Claire Latham (0)

A new ‘energy-efficient’ taxi cab is in the process of being developed and will be ready to be tested on roads in time for the 2012 Olympics.

It will look no different from the standard black cab we see on the roads today but will sport top class hydrogen fuel cell technology. You can see what will really be under the bonnet here.

The fuel cell taxi will hit the top speed of 81mph, go from 0-60mph in 14 seconds and has a range of more than 250 miles on a full tank of hydrogen.

They are quite simply the super equivalent of the electric cars that have recently been released.

They will be based in London and it has yet to be announced whether the cabs will be trialled in the West Midlands.

However if the trial goes well it may be expanded to other cities including Birmingham.

Simon Wood from Lotus Engineering, the team behind the project, said:

‘There is a global drive to reduce C02 emission levels and this is something we are dedicated to, for both Lotus Cars and our engineering clients.’

The trialling of these taxis in London will tell us more about what this will mean for Birmingham travellers.