The prototype vehicle has been unveiled ahead of the COP15 UN
Climate Change Conference 2009 in Copenhagen. The hybrid vehicle
is powered by a high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane
(HT-PEM) fuel cell operating on a reformed methanol/water mix.
The vehicle is claimed to offer a range of 500 km (310 miles),
and takes only two minutes to refuel. This could happen at a
regular gas station, and result in 70% lower CO2 emissions than
a gasoline-driven vehicle. The Serenergy HT-PEM fuel cell system
operates at 160°C, rather than the 80°C of a conventional PEM
fuel cell. This means that it is much more resistant to carbon
monoxide, which even at very low levels poisons a conventional
PEM fuel cell. It is also more resistant to hydrogen sulfide (up
to 10 ppm), and so maintains its performance even while it can
still be made out of conventional materials. HT-PEM fuel cells
are based on the use of polybenzimidazole (PBI) membranes doped
with phosphoric acid for proton conduction. It is this membrane
construction