March 2008 Archives

Conventional cars work by exploding fuel and air in a chamber to exert force on the pistons, but what if rather than using an explosion to provide that pressure on the piston, you just stored your ‘fuel’ at a constant high pressure. That’s the concept behind the air car, and it looks like a pretty promising technology. Like hydrogen the air is not actually the source of energy, it is the storage medium, but unlike hydrogen the production of an air powered car is surprisingly cheap. According to Wikipedia, without the need for a cooling, ignition or starter system these vehicles can be produced for approximately 20% cheaper than conventional car engines. That factor should not be underestimated since up until now, greener options have always seemed to come at a premium. Unlike battery electric vehicles a full tank of air will stay more or less full for a long time, they have very low discharge rates. Again compared to battery electrics the storage medium (tank) is not limited by a shelf life or number of cycles and therefore reduces waste. As the air expands in the engine it actually cools it, which can be used for passenger comfort. The car itself has no emissions since it just uses normal air (the air might actually end up cleaner because of filtration) and the compression can be done using renewable energy to make the entire system emission free. It can even run underwater if need be! This technology is honestly quite promising, but like the other ‘green’ options will this fail to stack up when it is looked at more closely?

Hydrogen is the darling of the media, car manufacturers and oil companies alike. The general public seems fairly convinced that hydrogen vehicles are going to be the way of the future and a simple replacement for oil. Just about every car manufacturer has done at least a fuel cell concept, if not a ‘production ready model’ or even consumer testing. Hydrogen can be filled up in more or less the same way as conventional cars meaning that consumers can continue in their established transport patterns. It can be produced from a variety of different sources including electricity and has the potential to be created with zero emissions. Best of all the only thing to come out of the tailpipe of a fuel cell vehicle is water vapour.But is hydrogen really the miracle cure for oil dependence and transport environmental damage that everyone thinks it is?

Photo from GreenCarSite

Over the next three weeks I’ll be running a series on ‘green cars’. This week is Part 1 the Myth of the Green Car, next week I’ll be looking at alternative fuels and in the final post I’ll try and un-greenwash the Electric Car.

The Myth of the Green Car.

Can Cars be good for the Environment?

Electric, hybrid, efficient diesel, hydrogen and bio-fuelled vehicles are all the more frequently being advertised as the eco-friendly alternative by car manufacturers, but how much truth is in their claims? Are these legitimate green cars?