I rode a $500,000 (U.S.) motorcycle in a ritzy New York hotel.
The Warwick hotel was built in 1926 by William Randolph Hearst ostensibly - rumour has it - to house his mistress.
Far more remarkable, however, is the motorcycle I was riding. The ENV (emissions neutral vehicle) is the world's first hydrogen fuel cell motorcycle. The 80-kilogram, futuristic-looking bike reaches its 80-kilometres-an-hour top speed in about 12 seconds.
As with all electric motors, maximum torque is available from a standstill, so it accelerates from zero to 30 km/h in about four seconds. Higher speeds (perhaps up to 160 km/h) are possible, but the ENV (pronounced "envy") was built to showcase the technology in a user-friendly package. It has one gear (direct drive from the electric motor to the rear wheel) and is as easy to ride as a moped - just twist the throttle and go.
Unlike a moped, however, the ENV emits just water vapour, and the only sound when it's running is the low hum of the fuel cell's two fans, like a small humidifier. The fuel cell, or CORE as it's officially called, is the size and shape of a computer hard-drive tower. At 18 kilograms, it can be easily removed from the bike and set on the ground, humming quietly.
It's easy to imagine a future when you could drive the ENV to the lake, remove the CORE to run your boat and then use it again to power your cottage.
The ENV has a range of 160 km, depending on how heavy you are on the hydrogen. It generates power during coasting, so it's possible to stretch the range a little. The hydrogen to fill the tank costs about $3 U.S. And there's the rub: like all hydrogen-powered vehicles, the problem is the accessibility of hydrogen. It's just not available - yet.
California, which probably will be the major market for hydrogen vehicles, has six hydrogen refuelling stations and promises close to 100 by 2010. There are seven stations in Canada, says Richard Frye, program director for Fuel Cell Infrastructure at the Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance (a branch of Natural Resources Canada). The stations (two in Vancouver, one in Victoria and four in Toronto) are for experimental purposes and are not accessible to consumers.
Andy Eggleston, ENV project director (the ENV was created in London by Intelligent Energy), envisions a
fuel delivery system the same way milk is still home-delivered in some places. Even if that does happen, the other problem with hydrogen is that, using current technology, it's produced from natural gas, which burns fossil fuels.
Eggleston says the future will see biomass - like sugar cane, corn and soybeans - easily converted to hydrogen, perhaps in your garage by something he calls a reformer. "It's a couple of years off," he says of the technology, "but it will take bio fuel and strip out the hydrogen. It will emit C02, but only what was contained in the plant and would have been released during decomposition."
It almost sounds too good to be true. But Eggleston says Intelligent Energy has working units now. It must clear several hurdles, including governmental approval and production issues, though, before it can be offered to the public. Intelligent Energy is betting on it. The company plans to sell the motorcycle next year for about $6,000 U.S.
Though my test ride took place in the empty conference room of an old hotel echoing with history, all I could think about was the future.
