.GREENMEANS GO.. EXETER FIRM CUTS FUEL BILLS
AFTER SWITCH TO HYDROGEN CELLS
Investment in eco- friendly technology is paying dividends for an Exeter taxi firm. Capital Taxis has seen its fuel bills fall dra- matically since it had hydrogen fuel cells fit- ted to all its company owned vehicles. And director Mike Win- ter said drivers who own their own cabs are starting to follow suit after seeing the potential cost savings and reduced emis- sions.
Explaining how the green revolution came about, he told the Exeter Express: “We decided that with the sort of business we are we had to show we had a green con- science. So I started
looking at various options and did a lot of research.”
Mike Winter first con- sidered the hybrid- powered Toyota Prius but ruled it out due to concerns about boot space and the envi- ronmental impact of mining the nickel which is a key compo- nent in the car battery. Then Capital were approached by Devon-based Nil CO2 Technologies. Alex Cheetham and Rich- ard Watts founded the business after becom- ing qualified installers and agents for hydro- gen fuel cells developed by inventor John Hickman.
The device runs off a car’s battery and
course, reducing emis- sions,” said Mike. “The units cost about £500 and we get that money back fairly quickly. We now have them in Sko- das, Lagunas and Mondeos and have had no problems at all.”
Mike Winter shows a hydrogen fuel cell Picture courtesy of The Exeter Express & Echo
works by splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen gas which is injected into the vehicle’s engine and oxidised as fuel. The resulting energy is said to be two and a half times
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more powerful than petrol, and is pollution free because the by- product of combustion is water vapour. “We trialled it in a Mer- cedes and found it was using 27.6 per cent less fuel, as well as, of
As one of the first pri- vate hire firms to embrace hydrogen fuel cells, Capital has received enquiries from other fleet operators around the country. The company has also invested about £160,000 in a system which automatically allocates jobs to the nearest car, reducing unnecessary miles travelled.
As well as taking steps to reduce its own car-
bon footprint, Capital supports sustainability charities Big Green Woods, Carbon Foot- print and Ripple Africa, helping to fund tree planting in the UK and development projects in Malawi.
“I’m delighted that you are featuring our story in PHTM,” Mike said. “We know that being eco-conscious is top priority these days, and we aim to be the greenest private hire company in Exeter. “We have to live with high fuel costs, but I always want to give something back,” Mike added. “We know we are making carbon and this is what we are doing to mitigate it.”
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