7 Alternative Fuels and Fuel-Powered Vehicles

By Ecoist in Energy & Fuel, Technology & Gadgets, Transit & Auto

With $4.00/gallon gas prices a not-so-distant memory, alternative fuels are all the rage. But what about the vehicles that run on them? Between hydrogen fuel cells, bio diesel, electricity and compressed air, the industrialized world is hard at work creating the next generation of non-oil consuming vehicles. These new, eco-friendly chariots deserve at least as much attention and fanfare as the fuels that power them, especially these 7 models.

Compressed air

(Image via DanceWithShadows)

Perhaps the most tantalizing of all the alternative fuels is compressed air. That’s all it takes to run this car, which was designed by French engineers and will be available to American drivers by 2010. Hard as it may be to believe, this little car that could requires nothing more than compressed air to cruise around town at speeds of up to 35MPH. (If your conscience can withstand using a few drops of oil, the engine can heat and compress enough air to let the car get up to 90MPH.) Best of all, this car will be affordable to virtually everyone at a sub-$20,000 price tag.

Vegetable oil

(Image via Biodiesel.org)

Environmentalists everywhere have been salivating at the idea of running a car on vegetable oil ever since the idea was first proposed, and we have now taken the leap from concept to reality! Volkswagen aficionados can now drive with a clean conscience in this entirely bio diesel-powered Beetle, and they don’t have to wait for it, either. The Beetle shown here belongs to a fleet at Bio-Beetle, the nation’s first-ever 100% bio diesel car rental agency headquartered in Maui.

Hydrogen fuel cells

(Image via ImagesMe)

The prospect of hydrogen-powered cars has been enticing eco-friendly motorists for years. And while car makers are currently grappling with a whole host of technical challenges (such how to efficiently store hydrogen in a vehicle or how to prevent it from freezing and/or catching fire), that hasn’t stopped the creation of deliciously fuel-efficient, hydrogen-powered proof of concept cars. A case in point is this model from luxury vehicle giant Mercedes. (Just don’t expect this bad boy to be as affordable as the air-powered vehicles!)

Ethanol

(Image via InternetAutoGuide)

Most of us are already using ethanol in our vehicles, as federal law requires a certain percentage of it to be in the gasoline we buy. But by 2010, Suzuki Motor Company begin selling cars that are completely, 100% powered by it. The first such car (pictured above) will be the E25 sedan, which goes on sale in Brazil this March. US models are soon to follow!

Water (yes, water!)

(Image via ZandJets2020)

This Japanese car (called the Genepax) can travel roughly 80 kilometers per hour, for an hour, on just one liter of water as its fuel source. The ar uses hydrogen electrons from water to produce electricity which, in turn, powers the electric motor of the car. To all the critics who so dismissively assumed no car could ever run on water, the Genepax is a most welcome retort!

Electrical power

(Image via UberGizmo)

It might look like this car could only exist in a movie, but the Moovie is real and drivable by flesh-and-blood human beings. The space age looking, 2-seater concept car from French automaker Peugeot boasts 2 huge front wheels that can rotate at different speeds and swivel a full 360 degrees. No word on when or if this car will be available for sale, but its mere existence is encouragement enough!

Wood pellets (aka Biomass)

(Image via BioMassAuthority)

If you aren’t already astonished that there are cars that run on air and water, this one is sure to pique your interest. The car pictured here literally runs on wood pellets. That’s right – essentially the same thing one might burn in a wood stove or campfire for heat is what powers this rugged, outdoors-y vehicle. It’s all part of what is known as biomass, a catch-all term referring to living and recently dead biological material that can be used as fuel.

Thank you for the report but I have been seing those cars now for a considerable range of time and the don’t get available … I want to buy a alternative fuel-powered vehicles in Luxembourg and there’s not ONE available …

I doubt they’re talking about salt water to power that auto, and we don’t have enough fresh water to use as an alternative fuel. Also, the very old diesel cars could use vegetable oil without modifications, but not the ones built today. Oh, how I hope no one read that comment and filled their dielsel tank w/veg oil.

Some interesting concepts, but not world saving ones

Compressed air, hydrogen cells and electric cars do not use these things as a fuel, but only a means of storing energy, to create the potential energy held within the vehicles you must expend energy to compress the air, produce the hydrogen by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, or charge the batteries from another electrical source, and currently the predominant source of this energy is fossil fuelled power stations, so these vehicles could more accurately be described as coal/gas powered

The “water powered” car is the most ridiculous claim, water by itself cannot be used as a fuel, you can convert water into hydrogen and oxygen by splitting it, and then recombining it to form water again, but the amount of energy you get when combining the two will never exceed the amount you have to put in in the first place to split the water, in a real life system the energy you get back will not even be equal to that which you use to split water into hydrogen and oxygen

So we’re left with the choices of vegetable oil, ethanol or wood pellets, which are all carbon dioxide producing and unsustainable fuel sources

In short, the only way we can sustain our energy consumption is by introducing cleaner sources of electricity, such as modern nuclear power stations to meet basic requirements and renewable sources for additional consumption, and/or reduce our consumption of energy

I’m sure I’ll get plenty of replies denouncing the view of supporting the “N” word but if my comments only spur a few people to look at the true cost of ignoring the problem it’ll be worth it

Cheers Mark, that was both squashing and enlightening. It’s important that we all see the real picture and not get sidetracked by the glitz and glamor that the car companies are so clever at. I mean geez the electric car above = pure sexy. It’s just sad that the engineering still isn’t quite there.

So let me get this straight… We want to replace gasoline with water and food-based products? I’m not condoning the continued use of gasoline on a mass scale but people are dying the world over because they don’t have access to clean water and proper food sources. Let’s not kid ourselves, water is our most precious resource. Food probably runs a close second, don’t you think? Let’s not waste these precious resources on something as trivial as cars. Just my two cents….

Thank you for using the “N” word. I think that the possibilities for nuclear power in this day and age are extremely over looked. Misconseptions and fear are two of the only things standing in the way of our country being self sustaining when it comes to power.

HI,

Whereas the other alternative energy sources are well known in general, the compressed air vehicle is really something new for me and really as you say the most tantalizing of all.
I would like to see at least some of the above alternatives taking dominant role in our transportation systems.

Mark is right; all of these are possibilities but will they really help that much?
I say the best idea up there is biomass.
If you harvest a crop for biomass, say on a yearly basis, the crop will take carbon dioxide out of the air, and when burned, will return it to the air. There will be no increase in green house gases/carbon dioxide.