Posts tagged Biofuel at Switched

Posts with tag biofuel

New Hybrid Car to Use Air as Fuel

by Evan Shamoon, posted Sep 16th 2008 at 10:49AM

Now that biofuels are pretty much out of the running to save our planet, the not-so-subtly-named, New York-based company called Zero Pollution Motors plans to produce a new kind of hybrid car: one that runs on compressed air and gets up to 106 miles per gallon. The car's engine would apparently work like a locomotive -- rather than steam, however, compressed air would move the pistons to propel the car along. When the car hits 35 mph, a fuel-powered external combustion system kicks in and heats the air, further increasing its volume and giving the vehicle more power.

The company is pledging to build the first models in 2010, which will be sold for around $18,000. Air would be free, and pumped into the tanks using an on-board compressor.

In other news, we're going to build a spaceship that runs on rainbows. Stay tuned! [From: Asylum]

Prince Charles' Aston Martin Runs on Wine (Sort of)

by Tim Stevens, posted Jul 2nd 2008 at 12:40PM

You know you have way too much booze around when you start to think about how to run your car on the stuff, a problem that Britain's Prince Charles is apparently afflicted by. The apparent wine lover (or hater, depending on how you look at it) has recently had his classic Aston Martin sports-car modified to run on ethanol created from excess wine that otherwise would have gone to waste.

The European Union has mandated maximum amounts of wine that any given vineyard can produce in a single year, and if a fruitful year results in excess, it often goes to waste. Green Fuels Limited provides the tech to convert those unneeded spirits into burnable fuel, which the Prince will now use to motor with the top down in his lovely DB6 Volante (an example of which is pictured above). Many of his other cars have also been converted to run on biodiesel created from recycled cooking oil, and these changes, plus others, have enabled Charles to reduce his carbon footprint an impressive 18-percent since last year. [Source: autoblog and CNN]

Lifecar Eco-Roadster Gets 150 Miles-Per-Gallon

by Thomas Houston, posted Mar 5th 2008 at 6:12PM

We've seen a lot of green gadgets and products coming to market lately, but we're pretty impressed with a new car that promises an high speeds and incredible mileage in a sporty, streamlined and eco-friendly design. Partially funded by the UK government, the green Lifecar project hopes to build excitement and support for zero-emissions technology.

Built to be extremely efficient by a consortium of UK auto manufacturers and universities, this sleek concept car runs on hydrogen fuel cells powered by a regenerative braking system (a technology already seen in some hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight). In other words, as the driver brakes and the car slows down, the system captures energy -- usually lost in a normal car -- and uses it to recharge the batteries.

Built to be as lightweight as possible, the car lacks a stereo, airbags and other modern amenities, but it does have a top speed of almost 100 miles per hour -- fast for a hydrogen fuel cell car -- and yet still gets over 150 miles per gallon.

Later this month, the concept car will debut at the Geneva Auto Show, where its top speed and acceleration abilities will be tested for the first time in public.

From BBC News and Crave

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