Llandrindod Wells-based Riversimple has been awarded £1.25 million of Government funding to produce 20 of its Rasa ultra-efficient hydrogen-fuel-cell electric vehicles.

These will go ‘on trial’ over 12 months in Monmouthshire, with 200 testers from domestic households, businesses, car clubs and councils feeding back data and their personal insight, which will be used to further develop the compact two-seater.

Rather than sell its vehicles, Riversimple plans to bundle the lease, service, fuel, tax, and insurance costs together in one package.

The range on a single tank is around 300 miles, and refuelling is completed in a few minutes (a hydrogen filling station will be installed in Abergavenny).

The focus on efficiency — involving a super-lightweight chassis and four electric motors, mounted one at each wheel — means that the Rasa has a better ‘well-to-wheel’ emissions profile than even the most efficient pure-electric car.

Riversimple founder (and chief engineer) Hugo Spowers (www.riversimple.co.uk) said: “This funding will help us to complete our first production run of the Rasa.

"In partnership with Monmouthshire County Council, these cars will form part of a Clean Mobility Trial that will see 12 months of user testing, allowing us to improve our customer offer and to promote localised refuelling infrastructure.

"We hope that, following the trial, other local authorities will engage with us to explore similar deployments of Riversimple vehicles.”