Green locomotion

Engineering team working on fuel-cell equipped Segway

If you’re into eco-friendly locomotion, Segway human transporters are a pretty cool way to go from here to there.

Carolina engineering professor John Weidner hopes to make the battery-powered scooter even more versatile while remaining environmentally friendly by adding a hydrogen fuel cell to prolong the Segway’s running time.

“We have a grant from the Columbia Fuel Cell Challenge to add a fuel cell to a Segway,” said Weidner, who concentrates his electrochemistry research on batteries, fuel cells, hydrogen production, and new materials associated with each. “By August, we hope to have it up and running.”

“Segway says you can run their product for about an hour at top speed (12 mph), but most users run them sporadically, not continuously, and probably get two or three hours from a single charge,” Weidner said. “With a fuel cell-equipped Segway, you’ll be able to go even longer because every time you stop, the battery will get a little more charging from the fuel cell.”