If you happened today to be outside of London’s Design Museum, you might have noticed a curious sight – an aquaponics ecosystem powered by a fuel cell vehicle from Hyundai. Known as the Fuel Cell Farm, it was a one day “piece of design theatre” aiming to educate people about the real-life benefits of hydrogen fuel-cell technology.
image via Hyundai
Aquaponics is a sustainable farming solution that’s a combination of hydroponics (growing plants in water) and aquaculture (raising fish in tanks). In the case of being hitched up to a Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell, it operates by taking the water emitted from the fuel cell vehicle
and filtering this water into the fish tank. The aquaponics technology then harnesses minerals from the fish waste to grow the plants on the farm.
Support for this interesting display of fuel cell usage came from the London government, which has been a big backer of low carbon technologies. Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Enterprise and Chairman of the London Hydrogen Partnership said of this display that “this installation is an imaginative way to bring alive the huge potential of hydrogen technology and I encourage people to come along to the Design Museum to learn more about what could be the most exciting new industry of the 21st century. We are getting London ready for this massive step forward in propulsion technology by supporting businesses to put fuel on the ground, and consumers to buy zero emission vehicles. London has been at the forefront of mobility advances through the centuries and that’s where we want to stay.”
Hyundai has been emerging as a leader in fuel cell vehicles this year, being the first automaker in the world to bring to production such a vehicle. London is being seen as an emerging hub for this alternative fuel type as well, and as a result will be getting five of the ix35s to support what’s known as the London Hydrogen Network Expansion project.
