Riversimple has created a very interesting hydrogen vehicle. While the car itself is impressive enough, what really strikes me is the business model. They have a five-part business philosophy that includes:

  • open source design and development (planning on no revenue from IP)
  • service concept (leasing cars instead of selling them)
  • super-efficient design with carbon fiber construction and hydrogen fuel cells with regenerative brakes that return 50% of energy
  • distributed manufacturing that means the cars will be made in small local factories, with local variations
  • a corporate structure that values the interests of all stakeholders equally

“We believe that business can be a powerful force in addressing the greatest issues that face humanity. However, it cannot be business as usual. The business must be driven by a profound purpose, must be democratic in structure, must seek to give back to society more than it takes and must be highly flexible and responsive to changes in its environment.”

The video below gives you a sense of the vehicle. The cars will be ready for a roll-out in a U.K city by 2012. They also plan to put the entire design online if you’re interested in building your own. The effort was inspired by the ideas of Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute, and is being supported by Porsche.

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