British gas firm The BOC Group plc. will attempt to break the world fuel-efficiency record this week with its newly developed eco-car, the BOC Ech2o.

The hydrogen-powered vehicle is capable of traveling 25,000 miles (the approximate length of a trip around the world) using only 25 watts of electricity, less than what is needed to power a light bulb, according to a recent BOC press release.

"It sounds unbelievable how little power is used to keep the BOC Ech2o moving, but it demonstrates the impact of careful design and is a valuable lesson for car makers in the future," said John Carolin, BOC's global director for sustainable energy.

The BOC Ech2o seeks to break the world fuel-efficiency record of just over 10,000 miles per gallon, while emitting nothing more hazardous than water, during this week's Shell Eco-Marathon at the Rockingham Raceway in the United Kingdom. The record is held by the PAC-Car II, a hydrogen-fueled Swiss vehicle that traveled the equivalent of 5,385 km/per liter at a French testing track, according to BOC officials.

For the rest of this eWeek story 155455: Hydrogen Power Motors for World Record, California.

Copyright © 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in ExtremeTech.