Independent Energy Systems (Speinshart, Germany) announced that its AQWON hydrogen-filled, two-stroke, engine scooter has received the German TÜV certificate, and that the company is the first worldwide that has received the security certificate for such a vehicle. The inventor, Josef Zeitler, developed the 50ccm engine running on solar hydrogen after 10 years of research and development.
The vehicle is fueled by a system designed by Diamond Lite and Proton Energy Systems Inc. (Rocky Hill, CT). The engine consists of a pressure vessel and an electrolyser. The scooter tank, which stores hydrogen at 50bar, was developed by HERA Hydrogen Storage Systems. When hit in an accident, the tank is said to freeze in, therefore, there is no danger of ignition or explosion. AQWON’s high speed is about 50km/h (30mph) with a performance of 2.6kW. AQWON quotes the price for the vehicle at 5,600 Euros (US$6,070). The driving range is approximately 100km (60m) and the vehicle can be refueled in just under five minutes.
