Pragma Industries Introduces A Hydrogen-Powered Bicycle

French startup Pragma Industries has become the first company to start production of hydrogen-powered bicycles. The bicycle is called the Alpha and is priced at a whopping Rs 5.8 lakh. The charging stations, on the other hand, cost Rs 23.4 lakh! At this price point, it is safe to say that the it is way too expensive for the consumer market. However, the company is working on lowering the price of the bicycle to Rs 3.9 lakh, which will see it compete against other premium electric bikes. Even at the lower price point, the bicycle seems to be targeted towards bike rental operators, delivery firms and corporate fleets.

In terms of design, the Alpha looks pretty much like a regular bicycle. The 2-litre hydrogen tank gives the Alpha a range of about 100km, which is similar to the range of most premium electric bikes. However, what’s interesting here is the Alpha only takes few minutes to charge whereas other conventional electric bikes take hours. This is because one kilogram of hydrogen holds 600 times more energy than a regular one-kilo lithium-ion battery. Currently, the company is also working on a solution that will convert plain water into hydrogen via different chemical reactions, all aboard the bike.

Pierre Forte, the Pragma Industries’ chief executive and founder, was quoted saying, "Many others have made hydrogen bike prototypes, but we are the first to move to series production." The company produced a 100 hydrogen bikes in 2017 and plans on manufacturing 150 more this year. According to the CEO, the bikes have received a great demand from countries such as Norway, United States, Spain, Italy and Germany.