Open source car of the future

Initiator was The Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment (Natuur en Milieu). The technical universities of Delft, Eindhoven and Enschede were invited to design a sustainable mobility concept for the year 2050, and first – to not get lost in time – for 2020.

Commercial parties did not need to be asked twice to participate. Athlon Car Lease and Rabobank are amongst them. Soon all sorts of creatives joined in. Together they formed ‘the c,mm,n community’. By now, thousands of people are involved.

C,mm,n
Starting point was not ‘the conventional car, only bigger and better’, but ‘people and their mobility needs’. The car facilitates communication between road users and is designed for queue driving, during which the driver can release the steering wheel and get some work done. A cleaner environment was also on the wish list and everything about the car is designed to meet that goal.

The result: c,mm,n – a zero emission, 2+2 family car on sustainably produced hydrogen that facilitates communication between road users. That is quite a mouthful. What does it comprise?

Propulsions
Two propulsion systems were designed:

• A combination of a hydrogen fuel cell to power four electric engines located in the wheels and an ultracapacitator, or ultracap, formerly known as condensator: a huge battery that can store a large amount of electricity (for instance from breaking) and release it when needed (for instance when accelerating).

Provided the hydrogen is produced in a sustainable manner, the fuel cell causes no greenhouse gas emission.

• A hydrogen combustion engine, a ‘boxer engine’, with a starter/alternator (which converts mechanical energy into electrical and vice versa) for short power boosts, for instance to start the car.

When less power is needed, fuel injection and ignition in one or more of the cylinders stops and the valves close while other cylinders deliver up to 30 percent extra power. As this saves a lot of fuel, the hydrogen combustion engine has very low emission levels provided the hydrogen is produced in a sustainable manner.

Fuel efficient
The car is highly fuel efficient in more ways. Because of the lightweight material, for instance, and because of its smooth bottom (for lack of an exhaust pipe and driving shaft). Furthermore, to accomodate the placing of the engines in the wheels, an active spring suspension system was designed. This system allows for a lean and therefore fuel efficient car.

Similar project
The general idea of the open source car of the future is not unique. The Society for Sustainable Mobility is working on a similar project with a more practical mindset. It launched the Open Source Green Vehicle, an electric car project about to mark its 25 percent completion.