We hope this is of a better quality than the Chinese T-shirts, but they also did it. Shanghai Pearl Hydrogen Power Source Technology Co revealed the first environmentally clean hydrogen fuel-cell bike at the 9th China International Exhibition on Gas Technology, Equipment and Applications which took place last week at Shanghaimart.

The company completed the model in August and has already received commands from clients overseas.

"Most of the buyers at present are individuals keen on clean energy applications," said Tian Binglun, the company's general manager.

The bike's energy system is made of a battery tank and a pair of hydrogen gas bottles placed under the seat, looking different from the common electric bikes and has just half the weight of the normal electric batteries on electric bikes.

"We could make the battery system lighter by using different materials to make the tank. As is widely known, hydrogen has become a major source of clean energy, together with wind and solar power. With hydrogen gas, the battery produces power to drive the bike without producing harmful fumes but only a bit of water," Tian explained.

The hydrogen bike also requires just 30 minutes to refill the bottles.

"However, it takes at least three hours to recharge the lead battery in common electric bikes," said Tian.

The new bike's price is about 20,000 yuan (US$2,632), but in case of mass production it could reach about 4,000 yuan ($ 658), making it competitive with electric bikes. Fully fueled, the bike could run 100 kilometers (60 mi) at a speed of 25 km (16 mi) an hour.

The producer company is interested in applying its core patented technologies on other vehicles, like motorbikes and golf carts, in collaboration with interested partners. The main problem of the new bike is supplying hydrogen.

"Hydrogen gas is not supplied through a network, unlike gasoline, but we could provide a list of designated gas suppliers in future," said Tian.