Status: 05.11.2023, 18:38 PM
By: Jannis Gogolin
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In his workshop: Rudi Höbel developed a unique bicycle motor © here Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss
Between Formula 1 racing and building miniature cars for the Porsche family 20 years ago, he developed a drive system that is still unparalleled today.
Egling – "Eureka!", Rudi Höbel did not shout when he looked up from his latest project at around 24 p.m. on the evening of December 2002, 22 and joined the living room for Christmas. But he thought so, because he had already experienced his Christmas miracle. Shortly before, his wife Silvia had stopped by his workshop one floor below for the second time. "Are you coming? It's a present," she reminded him. When he finally stood in the living room, he had already fulfilled his greatest wish: In his tinkerer's workshop was the result of years of work – a climate-neutral self-built engine, 0.5 liters of fuel consumption per 100 kilometers.
On display at the Deutsches Museum is Höbel's © fuel cell pendant Jannis Gogolin
He used to be a Formula 1 engineer: inventor from Upper Bavaria had a groundbreaking bicycle idea
Whether they chug, roar or just hum softly – engines are Rudi Höbel's passion. No wonder he traveled the world for several decades with the fastest of their kind in his luggage. As a racing engineer, the now 67-year-old looked after various motorsport legends such as Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schuhmacher and accompanied them to their international competitions. "There is hardly a country whose race tracks I have not seen," says the retired Eglinger about his professional career.
But as we all know, Formula 1 is taking a winter break. The engine specialist used this free time to work on his own projects in his workshop in the Endlhausen district, first and foremost the fuel cell engine, which he completed just in time for Christmas Eve.
Eglingen's inventor had a groundbreaking idea: a bicycle trailer that acts as a motor
"The only thing my fuel cell needs is waste," explains Höbel. More precisely: methanol, a by-product that falls off during the production of gasoline. In a special process called electrolysis, the fuel cell converts the methanol into electricity. This flows into batteries and drives an electric motor. However, you won't find a conventional exhaust pipe on Höbel's drive. This is because electrolysis produces neither smelly exhaust gases nor CO2. Only water drips from a thin, barely visible hose. "Distilled water, to be precise," Höbel adds to his technical digression. And per 100 kilometres, the engine consumes just half a litre of methanol. "Climate-neutral, clean and durable – everything you want today."
Porsche family Piech wants a toy car from Eglinger Höbel
In addition to inventor Höbel, other people were enthusiastic about the advantages. This is the case with the Piëch family of automobiles, for which he designed a toy car made of carbon fiber and fuel cells. Or Klaus Zumwinkel, the head of Deutsche Post at the time. For him, Höbel designed a bicycle including a trailer with the aforementioned fuel cell, in which mail boxes could be stored. "Zumwinkel's tax evasion and conviction threw a spanner in the works, and the plans fizzled out," recalls the 67-year-old Eglinger. Today, the model is on display in the traffic center of the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
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In the meantime, Höbel has sold his patented fuel cell technology. Now the vice-chairman of the Oldtimerfreunde Endlhausen spends his free time as a pensioner mainly restoring historic cars. "The invention didn't make me rich, but it still makes me happy today." However, bicycles – he built over 25 in his career, one of which was custom-made for Sebastian Vettel – do not let him go. His latest "side project": a bicycle from 1893. "Some ideas just take time to be properly discovered," says the inventor. "And maybe that's true for my invention as well."
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