---
title: "There’s a Welsh-Made Hydrogen Car Coming This Summer"
description: "Riversimple Motion plans to unveil its Rasa hydrogen two-seater car on the streets of Wales for beta testing this summer."
date: "2018-01-31"
modified: "2018-01-31"
authors:
  - name: "Dave Bartosiak"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/dave-bartosiak"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/18104/theres-a-welsh-made-hydrogen-car-coming-this-summer"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "hydrogen"
  - "next-gen"
  - "Riversimple"
  - "Water"
  - "Zero Emissions"
---

# There’s a Welsh-Made Hydrogen Car Coming This Summer

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/01/riversimp.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Wales isn’t exactly known for being a hot-bed of automotive innovation. The only people I’ve heard of from Wales are Catherine Zeta-Jones, Garreth Bale, and my buddy Luke. Yet deep in the countryside there’s a company called Riversimple Motion that’s created a hydrogen car they say will be ready for enjoyment this summer. It’s called the Riversimple Rasa, and [according to the *BBC*,](<https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-42876575>) it’s set to begin real-world trials on the streets this summer.

The company is based in Llandrindod Wells and crowdfunded about $1.4 million last year to start the project. There will be a second round of funding in February and the company has already secured $2.26 million from the European Union. Their pie-in-the-sky idea is a model where customers pay a monthly fee for a car and all of the maintenance, insurance, and fuel that it takes to run it.

https://youtube.com/embed/V23GzgjfrI0

The company’s first car, the Rasa, is a small two-seater made of carbon fiber that only weighs 1,278 pounds. It’s [powered by hydrogen](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/15516/toyota-says-hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-will-be-cheap-as-hybrids-by-2025>) and comes with fancy butterfly doors. Four in-hub motors are powered by the [hydrogen fuel cell](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/17924/toyota-mirai-hydrogen-fuel-cell-car-tops-3000-california-sales>), capable of moving the Rasa up to 60 miles per hour. Its tank fits 3.3 pounds of compressed hydrogen, which is good enough for a range of up to 300 miles.

The company said that up to 10 of the cars will take part in a testing phase that will last about a year. There are already a ton of applicants applying to be part of the lucky group. Over 900 drivers have asked to be considered as beta testers for the car as well. Refueling could be a problem as currently there are only four hydrogen filling stations accessible to the public in all of the UK. For the testing, Riversimple is adding a refueling point in the city of Abergavenny.

If all goes well this summer, the next step for the company is to [set up a production factory](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/16734/sorry-tesla-fanboys-the-best-zero-emissions-semi-runs-on-fuel-cells>) and hire 220 workers.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/bartosiastics>)