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The movement to reduce dependency on fossil fuels for economic and environmental reasons is driving research and development of ecological fuels. A major application of these fuels will be to power vehicles. There are a number of alternatives to refined petroleum being considered including hydrogen, solar, electricity, natural gas and biofuels. These technologies are in varying stages of development and have benefits and drawbacks that will affect their choice as a solution for society’s future power needs.
Electric motors are a key technology for many alternative fuel powered vehicles. The electric motor derives its power from an array of rechargeable batteries which is delivered to the motor by way of a controller. The car’s accelerator pedal hooks into a pair of potentiometers which provide signals to the controller indicating how much power to deliver from the batteries. Batteries are currently the limiting factor in the viability of electric cars. Lead-acid batteries are too heavy and have limited range, which make them unworkable for all but short trips. NiMH and lithium-ion batteries improve on weight and range, but are currently too expensive to be practicable. Battery charging is another problem that needs to be overcome. A normal 120-volt household outlet can take 10 to 12 hours to fully charge the batteries. The time can be cut in half by using a 240-volt outlet similar to those used for electric dryers.
Fuel cells hold promise to alleviate the problems of electric motor vehicles. The fuel cell replaces the battery as the power source for the electric motor. Fuel cells can be powered with pure hydrogen emitting only water and heat. They can also use hydrogen rich fuel sources such as methanol which is converted to hydrogen by a component called a reformer. These type cells produce pollution at lower levels than gasoline powered cars. Research needs to be conducted on efficient ways to produce and store hydrogen and in creating an infrastructure for its delivery.
Current solar power technology alone cannot power cars. Solar cells are too large and do not produce enough power. Solar may have applications to run automobile components, and Toyota is reportedly working on a prototype for its Prius that uses solar cells in the roof to power its air conditioning system. Golf carts are one possibility for stand-alone solar power, due to their limited size and range requirements.
Natural gas vehicles are available today, but suffer from high initial cost and lack of range and refueling infrastructure. Biofuels can be produced that reduce emissions but also have problems, such as being corrosive to engine parts and requiring large tracts of land for growing the necessary crops. These issues may make biofuels untenable as a vehicle powering solution.



Jason Grace
on behalf of the
BascoTec Internet Limited
Technologie Park 13
33100 Paderborn
Germany

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