Press Release

May 25, 2017

‘Rasa’ zero-emission hydrogen car centrepiece in first RHS Chatsworth Flower Show

Visitors attending the first RHS Chatsworth Flower Show in Bakewell, from June 7-11, could be forgiven for initially thinking a sporty, little two-seater car looks out of place displayed in a garden titled ‘RHS Garden for a Changing Climate’.

But the Riversimple ‘Rasa’is no ordinary car. It runs on hydrogen, emits no pollution and has been created by a Welsh car maker, which is revolutionising the motor industry by adopting a circular business model– promoting sustainable mobility and less waste.

Riversimple founder Hugo Spowers said: “We are delighted to be working with the RHS to help encourage discussion among visitors about ways to tackle climate change and to reduce pollution levels. These are some of the biggest problems facing our modern world. It is also exciting to see technology around green cars and infrastructure developing at such a rapid pace, offering people sustainable mobility in the near future.”

One of the garden designers,Andy Clayden said: “It is great to have this British design innovation in our ‘RHS Garden for a Changing Climate’. The Rasa is forward looking and emphasises sustainable use of resources, which is a key theme within the garden.”

The Rasa is currently believed to be the greenest car designed for ordinary road use and emits just water. It is the culmination of 15 years of research and development by a team that includes ex-F1 and aerospace engineers and was launched in spring 2016 to huge acclaim. Ithas a range of c.300 miles, refills in a few minutes and is powered by a small hydrogen fuel cell, as well as energy recaptured from braking.

The pioneering Welsh company is the only car maker to adopt a circular economy model, aiming to recover as much value as possible at the car’s end of life. In April, Riversimpleannounced its first crowdfunding round had exceeded its target of £1m and raised a final figure of £1,138,000to match a €2million EU grant towards running a 12 month public trial of 20 hydrogen fuel cell cars. These will be hand-builtand test driven by residents in Monmouthshire, Wales. This follows a £2million grant awarded by the Welsh government in 2015.

The ‘RHS Garden for a Changing Climate’, designed by Andy Clayden and Dr Ross Cameron of Sheffield University and RHS Scientist Eleanor Webster, shows a small suburban garden now, next to one in the year 2100. It highlights how suburban gardens could adapt to stormier weather patterns, increased rainfall and hotter, drier summers.

RHS Chatsworth Flower Show is expected to attract more than85,000 visitors and will be set within the 1000-acre parkland of the Chatsworth Estate, home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

Note to editors:

The car is offered on a total service arrangement (similar to a mobile phone contract) with the cost of fuel included, making sustainable, high-tech automotive design affordable.

Designs for a four-seater car and a light goods vehicle were unveiled at the London Motor Show in May and will be further developed once the Rasa is commercially available in 2019. In September 2016, Riversimple was awarded two grants worth £350,000, for technology innovations that could lead to the creation of 7,000 jobs in the UK.

The company plans to boost hydrogen infrastructure in the UK by developing communities of users around each filling station.Over the next 20 years, Riversimple plans to build a distributed network of compact and efficient manufacturing plants that will regenerate communities and create jobs.

Riversimple’s €2m grant from theEuropean Unionis part of an existing project that is not affected by the UK referendum result to leave the EU. The company isa consortium member of SWARM

(Demonstration of Small 4-wheel fuel cell passenger vehicle Applications in Regional and Municipal transport). For the next two years, during the process of leaving the EU, the UK will continue to have the same level of participation in ongoing European programmes.

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Media Contact: Catherine Kelly +44 (0)7704 130226

Visit Riversimple.com to find out more. New film ‘Making sustainability profitable’ explaining business model and updates.This videointroduces the team and the business. Further images can be accessed here. Follow and like us at Twitter @riversimple, Facebook,

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Riversimple is a consortium member of SWARM (Demonstration of Small 4-wheel fuel cell passenger vehicle Applications in Regional and Municipal transport). SWARM has received FCH-JU (Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking) research funding from the European Union.