Dr Jos Darling, Mr Benjamin Drew, Professor Kevin Edge and Dr Geraint Owen, University of Bath
Dr Matt Barker, Stirling Dynamics
A novel low emission vehicle for city transport
A collaborative group of from academia and industry have embarked on a research project to design and develop a new vehicle for urban transport to solve the dual problems of traffic congestion and vehicle emissions in cities.
The design combines the comfort and safety of a conventional car with the low emissions, manoeuvrability and efficiency of a motorcycle. The engine of this new vehicle runs on compressed natural gas (CNG), so the vehicle produces 65 per cent less carbon dioxide than typical petrol or diesel cars.
“We have taken the best features of a car and motorcycle and modified them to create a more environmentally-friendly vehicle for urban areas,” explains Ben Drew from the University of Bath, who worked on the novel tilting system. “We have also developed new refuelling technology to ensure vehicles can be refuelled in areas where CNG fuelling is not established.”
“Safety and viability were also important concerns when we designed this vehicle,” continues Ben. “We included air bags and an optimised safety frame, and have tested the vehicle in urban environments to ensure it would work in real transport situations. We hope this new vehicle will improve transportation and inspire people to support greener travel.”
The project includes researchers from the University of Bath, Technical University of Berlin, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (Vienna), Institut Français du Petrôle, (Lyon) and BMW AG (Munich).
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