Serpentine Solar Shuttle
Can solar power really be the fuel of the future? The designers of London's new Serpentine Solar Shuttle believe it can be. The most advanced passenger ferry currently cruising on British waters, the Shuttle takes 42 people at a time across the Serpentine lake in Hyde Park, at 5mph. Powered entirely by the sun. 
It's a short journey – only half a mile or so – but a noteworthy one. The 48-foot-long shuttle is basically tiled in solar panels which run along its roof. Since it's solar-powered, there are virtually no emissions and therefore no pollutants being released into the air. While it's sitting still it stores fuel and even feeds it back into the national transmission network. It's also made entirely of stainless steel, so it won't age – except perhaps when futuristic shuttles no longer look futuristic. 
The boat was created by Christoph Behling who also created the world's largest solar boat in Hamburg, Germany. He is currently working on a larger solar-powered ferry for the Thames and a train for London's Battersea Park. RM 
Images: with thanks to Christoph Behling
2007 Sep 5
one response.
1 COMMENTS
Bodenseepeter
September 6, 2007
Reminds me very much of the Solarfähre that has been doing business for several years at the Lake Constance (=Bodensee).