Unreasonable Impact | The Car Service of the Future: A Q&A with Riversimple
by Brittany Lane
Originally posted on Unreasonable Impact, created with Barclays
Transportation accounts for over 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Cars alone burn a massive portion of these fossil fuels. Additionally, the global auto industry projects to manufacture over 107 million vehicles in 2020.
But what if cars didn’t have to run on petroleum-based fuel, and the auto industry didn’t have to continue dumping resource-intensive products on the market? After over 15 years of tireless engineering and ingenuity, U.K.-based company Riversimple launched its prototype in February 2016.
The “Rasa” is a sleek, ice blue, carbon-fiber car that sits two passengers. It’s powered by a hydrogen fuel cell instead of fossil fuels, providing a range of 300 miles and weighing less than half the average compact car. You may have seen it gracefully weaving through the streets of London. And emissions? Zero.
It’s not only about the sexy, environmentally conscious car; it’s also the company’s entirely new business model. Instead of selling cars, Riversimple will retain ownership and offer mobility as a service. One monthly fee covers everything. In the long-term, they see a world of distributed manufacturing, where small towns everywhere can employ hundreds to spawn local industry.
Unreasonable sat down with Founder and CEO, Hugo Spowers, at his workshop in Llandrindod Wells, Wales, to discuss racing cars and the risk and struggle involved in sparking a sustainable mobility revolution.
