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Michelin, Swiss researchers test new car fuel-cell technology
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  • GENEVA (AFP) Oct 13, 2004
    The French industrial group Michelin and a Swiss technical institute said Wednesday that they had built an experimental pollution-beating electric car that uses a fuel cell combining oxygen and hydrogen.

    "It's not the first time that a prototype has been made using a fuel cell, but this one has particular characteristics: It's light, it uses oxygen and its consumption is very low," Daniel Laurent, head of Michelin's Swiss research centre, said.

    The Paul Scherrer Institute near Zurich said the car refuels with a mix of oxygen and hydrogen that powers two electric motors developed by Michelin which are located inside the front wheels.

    The only exhaust emission produced by the vehicle is steam, they said, while a refuelling station was set up with a local power company to produce the hydrogen-oxygen mix through electrolysis generated by solar power.

    Laurent said that the "Hy-Light" prototype offered the speed of a medium-sized family car with up to 102 horsepower on tap as well as a relatively long range of 400 kilometres (300 miles) compared to many experimental fuel-cell cars.

    The working prototype, which the developers say includes other innovations, was presented recently in Shanghai, China, where it is due to take part in an international competition for clean engine technology.

    Many top car makers have been experimenting with hydrogen fuel cells or combined electric and petrol-engined hybrid cars in an attempt to meet tougher emissions targets.




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