Alternative Energy Vehicle

Introduction
An alternative fuel vehicle is a vehicle that runs on a fuel other than "traditional" petroleum fuels (petrol or diesel); and also refers to any technology of powering an engine that does not involve solely petroleum (e.g. electric car, hybrid electric vehicles, solar powered).

Reason For looking at alternative energy source :

Because of a combination of factors, such as environmental concerns, high oil prices and the potential for peak oil evelopment of cleaner alternative fuels and advanced power systems for vehicles has become a high priority for many governments and vehicle manufacturers around the world.

Present Energy Status :

As of 2011 there were more than one billion vehicles in use in the world,[2][3] compared with around 70 million alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles that had been sold or converted worldwide as of ecember 2011, and made up mainly of!

27"1 million fle#ible$fuel vehicles through

[']

ecember 2011, led by %ra&il with 1'"3 million, [(][)]followed by the

*nited +tates with almost 10 million, ,anada -'00,000.,[7] and /urope, led by +weden -220,)22."[0] 1he %ra&ilian fleet includes 1") million fle#ible$fuel motorcycles sold since 2002"[2][2][10][11] 17") million 345 powered vehicles by ecember 2010, led by 1ur6ey with 2"32 million, 4oland -2"32 million., and +outh 7orea -2"3 million."[12] 1("0 million natural gas vehicles by ecember 2011, led by 8ran with 2"0' million, followed by 4a6istan -2"0) million., Argentina -2"0( million., %ra&il -1"7 million., and 8ndia -1"1 million."[13] )"7 million neat$ethanol only light$vehicles built in %ra&il since 1272,[(] with 2"( to 3"0 million vehicles still in use by 2003"[1(][1)] and 1"22 million units as of ecember 2011"[1'] 9ore than '"7 million hybrid electric vehicles have been sold worldwide by August 2013, led by 1oyota 9otor ,ompany -19,. with more than )") million 3e#us and 1oyota hybrids sold by August 2013,[17] followed by :onda 9otor ,o", 3td" with cumulative global sales of more than 1 million hybrids by +eptember 2012,[10] and ;ord 9otor ,orporation with more than 200 thousand hybrids sold in the *nited +tates by <une 2012"[12] 1he world=s best selling hybrid is the 1oyota 4rius, with 3 million units sold by <une 2013"[20]+ales are led by the *nited +tates almost 2")

million units sold through +eptember 2012,[21][22][23] followed by <apan with almost 2 million hybrids,[2(][2)][2'][27][20] and /urope with more than )00,000 units" 9ore than )30,000 plug$in electric vehicles -4/>s. sold worldwide by ecember 2011" 9ost electric vehicles in the world roads are low$speed, low$range neighborhood electric vehicles -?/>s., with about (72,000 ?/>s on the road by 2011"[22] 1he world=s top selling ?/> is the 5/9, with global sales of (),000 units through ecember 2010" [30] 1he world=s best selling highway$capable plug$in electric car is the ?issan 3eaf all$electric car, with more than 21,000 units sold worldwide through ecember 2011,[31]followed by the 9itsubishi i$9i/> electric car, with global cumulative sales of more than 17,000 units through @ctober 2011,[32] and the ,hevrolet >olt plug$in hybrid, with 0,272 units sold through ecember 2011 in the *"+" and ,anada"[33][3(][3(][3)] 1he *nited +tates and <apan are the world=s largest highway$capable plug$in electric car mar6ets as of ecember 2011" +ince ecember 2010, around 10,000 plug$in electric cars have been sold in the *"+" through ecember 2011, led by the ?issan 3eaf -2,'23 units. and the ,hevrolet >olt -7,227 units."[3'] +ince <uly 2002, more than 13,000 electric cars have been sold in <apan by ?ovember 2011, which includes more than 0,000 3eafs[37] and ),000 i$9i/>s"[30]

Hydro Car(Hydrogen Vehicle) :

A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen as its onboard fuel for motive power" :ydrogen vehicles include hydrogen fueled space roc6ets, as well as automobiles and other transportation vehicles" 1he power plants of such vehicles convert the chemical energy of hydrogen to mechanical energy either by burning hydrogen in an internal combustion engine, or by reacting hydrogen with o#ygen in afuel cell to run electric motors" Aidespread use of hydrogen for fueling transportation is a 6ey element of a proposed hydrogen economy"[1] :ydrogen fuel does not occur naturally on /arth and thus is not an energy sourceB rather it is an energy carrier" 8t is most freCuently made from methane or other fossil fuels, but it can be produced using sources -such as wind, solar, or nuclear. that are intermittent, too diffuse or too cumbersome to directly propel vehicles" 8ntegrated wind$to$hydrogen plants, using electrolysis of water, are e#ploring technologies to deliver costs low enough, and Cuantities great enough, to compete with traditional energy sources"[2] 9any companies are wor6ing to develop technologies that might efficiently e#ploit the potential of hydrogen energy for mobile uses" 1he attraction of using hydrogen as an energy currency is that, if hydrogen is prepared without using fossil fuel inputs, vehicle propulsion would not contribute to carbon dio#ide emissions" 1he drawbac6s of hydrogen use are high capital cost, low energy content per unit volume, high tan6age weights, high storage vessel pressures, the storage, transportation and filling of gaseous or liCuid hydrogen in vehicles, the large investment in infrastructure that would be reCuired to fuel vehicles, and the low efficiency of production processes"

n 1032, the Aelsh scientist +ir Ailliam Dobert 5rove too6 the familiar electrochemical process of electrolysis, which uses electricity to produce hydrogen from water, and reversed it, generating electricity and water from hydrogen" :e called his invention a gas voltaic battery, but today we 6now it as a hydrogen fuel cell" 9uch later, in the middle of the 20th century, the technology was further developed by the inventor ;rancis %acon" 1he technology that these two inventors devised is essential to the operation of a hydrogen car" 1he first practical fuel cell system was developed in the early 12'0s by 5eneral /lectric for use in orbital space capsules" And then, in the 1220s fuel cells began appearing in city buses" so we 6now that powering vehicles with fuel cells is feasible" Eou can thin6 of a fuel cell as a 6ind of battery, e#cept that while a battery 6eeps its fuel inside itself, a fuel cell needs to be refilled" 1he fuel for a hydrogen fuel cell is, as the name suggests, hydrogen" As you might recall from high school chemistry class, hydrogen is the simplest of all elements" An atom of hydrogen consists of a single electron and a single proton" 1he fuel cell generates electricity by stripping the electrons from the protons and using the electrons to create a pure stream of electricity" 1he ioni&ed hydrogen atoms then combine with o#ygen to form water" 1he other byproduct of this process is heat, so this water generally ta6es the form of steam" :ow=s that for eco$friendly drivingF 1he type of fuel cell used in cars is the polymer e#change membrane -or 4/9. fuel cell" 4/9 fuel cells have the advantage of being light and small" 1hey consist of two electrodes -a negatively charged anode and a positively charged cathode., a catalyst and a membrane" :ydrogen is forced into the fuel cell at the anode in the form of :2 molecules, each of which contains two hydrogen atoms" A catalyst at the anode brea6s the molecules into hydrogen ions -the protons. and a flow of electricity -the electrons." 1he ions pass through the membrane, but the electricity has to go around" Ahile it=s doing so, it can be harnessed to do wor6" <ust as hydrogen is forced into the fuel cell at the anode, o#ygen is forced in at the cathode" 1he protons and electrons reunite at the cathode and Goin with the o#ygen to form water, most of which become the fuel cell=s e#haust" ;uel cells are designed to be flat and thin, mainly so they can be stac6ed" 1he more fuel cells in the stac6, the greater the voltage of the electricity that the stac6 produces" 9any people thin6 that fuel$efficient vehicles li6e hydrogen$powered cars will be crucial in meeting the energy demands of the 21st century" 8n 2003, 4resident 5eorge A" %ush announced a H1"2 billion ;reedom ;uel 8nitiative in support of the development of fuel cell technology" ;uel cells have two maGor advantages over fossil fuels" ;irst, they don=t deplete the world=s finite supply of oil, which helps us preserve the e#isting supplies and they could also reduce our dependency on

foreign oil" +econd, the only byproduct from a fuel cell=s operation is heat and water, which means fuel cells don=t produce pollution" 1his is vitally important in a time when carbon emissions from cars are believed to be promoting global warming"

+o how do manufacturers actually build fuel$efficient vehicles, li6e fuel cell carsF Aell, hydrogen car production is not vastly different from producing typical cars" @f course, the drive train, for instance, and the electrical systems will be somewhat uniCue because a fuel cell creates electricity" 1herefore, a hydrogen$powered car and electric car have a lot in common in that respect" 4erhaps a more important Cuestion is how the hydrogen itself will be produced" 5iven that hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, constituting roughly 20 percent of the atoms in e#istence, you=d thin6 that this wouldn=t be a problem" Aell, thin6 again" :ydrogen is also the lightest element in the universe and any uncontained hydrogen on the surface of the /arth will immediately float off into outer space" Ahat hydrogen remains on this planet is bound with other elements in molecular form, most commonly in water -:2@. molecules" And there happens to be a lot of :2@ on the surface of the /arth" %ut how do we separate the hydrogen molecules in the water from the o#ygen moleculesF And if we don=t use water as a hydrogen source, where else can we get hydrogenF 1he simplest way of getting hydrogen from water is the one that +ir Ailliam 5rove 6new about more than 1)0 years ago! electrolysis" 8f you pass an electric current through water, the :2@ molecules brea6 down" +imilar to fuel cell operation, this process uses an anode and a cathode, usually made from inert metals" Ahen an electric current is applied to the water, hydrogen forms at the cathode, and o#ygen forms at the anode" Although this process is slow, it can be done on a large scale" An alternative source for hydrogen is natural gas, which consists of naturally occurring hydrocarbons" A process called steam reformation can be used to separate the hydrogen in the gas from the carbon" At present, this is the most common method of industrial$scale production of hydrogen and would li6ely be the first method used to produce the hydrogen for fuel$cell vehicles" *nfortunately, this process uses fossil fuels $$ the natural gas $$ so if the point of building cars that run on hydrogen is to avoid depleting fossil fuel reserves, natural gas would be the worst possible source of this fuel" +ome e#perts have suggested that it might be possible to build miniature hydrogen plants that will fit in the average person=s garage, so it won=t even be necessary to drive to the local fueling station to fill up the car=s hydrogen tan6" 1he most e#treme form of this idea has been the suggestion that electrolysis could be performed inside the car itself, which

would ma6e possible the astounding idea of a car that runs on waterI :owever, the power for the electrolysis has to come from some sort of battery, so a water$powered car would need to be periodically recharged"

Hydrogen Car Setbacks

A lot of people believe that hydrogen fuel cells are the most important alternative fuel technology currently under development" 8t is not, however, without problems, and it may be decades before fuel cell technology is in wide use" Ae can roughly group the problems with hydrogen into three categories! the costs of developing the technology, difficulties and dangers with hydrogen storage and the possibility that this Jnon$polluting technologyJ isn=t so non$polluting after all" :ere are some of the hydrogen car setbac6s that we can e#pect to deal with in the near future" 1he costs of developing hydrogen technology are high" ?ot only do we have to design and develop the fuel cells and the cars, but we have to develop an infrastructure to support these fuel$efficient vehicles" 8magine if you currently owned a hydrogen car" Ahere would you go to fill your tan6F Assuming you don=t have a hydrogen production facility in your garage, you=ll need a hydrogen refueling station, and the only place where any significant number of such stations e#ists at the moment is in the state of ,alifornia, where 5overnor Arnold +chwar&enegger has committed to supporting a hydrogen future" +ome of the more pessimistic estimates have placed the cost of building an infrastructure that will allow a significant number of hydrogen cars to be as high as H)00 billion $$ and the time to produce the infrastructure as long as four decadesI 1he cost of the cars is high, too" Aith platinum as the most widely used catalyst in the fuel cells, the price of a single fuel cell vehicle is currently more than H100,000 and even perhaps considerably more, which is why the only hydrogen cars available for you to drive at the moment are for lease, not for sale" ;ew people are in a position to afford such an e#pensive car" @ther catalysts are being developed which will probably be less e#pensive than platinum, but nobody 6nows how soon they=ll be available for large$scale use" 1he storage problem is also a thorny one" :ydrogen is a gas and it li6es to spread out" 4utting it in a car means sCuee&ing it down to a reasonable si&e, and that isn=t easy" ;urthermore, hydrogen gets warm while it=s sitting in the tan6 of a par6ed car, which causes the gas to e#pand" 1his means that the tan6s have to vent the hydrogen periodically from the car" 3eave a hydrogen car sitting around for more than a few days and all the fuel will be gone" :ydrogen is also highly flammable $$ the spectacular e#plosion of the dirigible :indenburg in the 1230s is believed by some to have been the result of a hydrogen fire $$ so, if the hydrogen gets out of the tan6, it has the potential to be dangerous" ;ortunately,

hydrogen fires aren=t as hot as gasoline fires and are less li6ely to start secondary fires" And because hydrogen rises, most escaped hydrogen will float away before it can actually do any harm" And is hydrogen really non$pollutingF A fuel cell produces only heat and water as e#haust, but the processes used to create the hydrogen are not necessarily as clean" /lectrolysis uses electricity and that electricity will often come from plants that burn coal, a highly polluting source" And when hydrogen is e#tracted from natural gas, it produces carbon emissions, which is e#actly what we=re trying to avoid by using hydrogen in the first place" 9any people thin6 that we=ll overcome these obstacles eventually, but it=s going to be difficult" @thers believe that our best bet for fuel efficiency and eco$friendly driving in the near future lies not in hydrogen but in hybrid electric vehicles, li6e the 1oyota 4rius, the ;ord ;usion hybrid and other similar hybrid cars" +till, it=s possible that within the ne#t couple of decades, you Gust might own a hydrogen fuel cell car"

Pros of Alternative Fuel Cars

Biodieselcars. Biodiesel vehicles use a blend of petroleum diesel and vegetable oils. They produce fewer carbon emissions and harmful particulates than standard diesel. In terms of fuel availability, while biodiesel outlets may still show short supply nationally, drivers retain the choice of filling up with standard diesel. Biodiesel is more energy efficient in its production than petroleum products and gives drivers better fuel costs than regular vehicles. Ethanolcars. Ethanol-fueled vehicles run on a mixture of gasoline and a propellant derived from grain. There are an increasing number of alternative fuel cars now being supplied for this market. The most popular ethanol fuel blend is E85. The name reflects the proportions of 85 percent ethanol to 15 percent gasoline used in the fuel. This makes it an emissions-friendly fuel. It also provides another potentially large and profitable market for farmers. Hybridcars. Hybrid cars operate using a combination of gasoline power and electric power. In addition to the gas tank they have an electric battery that stores energy during the speeding and slowing parts of a typical journey. The pros of this type of vehicle include the substantial saving in fuel costs through the engine's efficiency. Hydrogencars. As a fuel, hydrogen appears to have enormous possibilities. Its pros begin with the fact it comes from water and is therefore a renewable fuel with inexhaustible supplies and benefits in fuel cost. The exhaust from a hydrogen-fueled car is totally environment-friendly. Hydrogen cars also give the driver excellent mileage compared to regular gasoline cars.

Cons of Alternative Fuel Cars

Biodieselcars. One of the major cons of biodiesel fuel is its cost, being more expensive to produce than regular diesel. Another hazard is seen as the temptation for farmers to turn to growing biodiesel plants rather than food crops. In addition, large-scale farm production would use vast amounts of land. Ethanolcars. The cons of ethanol-fueled cars include the fact that ethanol contains less energy than gasoline and so delivers less on a gas mileage comparison. Some people also suggest that the emissions from petrol-based fuels used in producing the grain exceed the ethanol's own emission benefits. Hybridcars. The downsides of choosing this vehicle include the considerably higher prices they cost to buy. There remains doubt about the longevity of the electricity-storing battery. As relatively new vehicles, few have experienced the 10-years plus life that could satisfactorily answer this open question either way. Hydrogencars. The negatives associated with using hydrogen as a vehicle fuel are rather troublesome. Considerable problems have arisen in the practical manufacture of these cars. There are no answers to

these problems on the immediate horizon. In addition, hydrogen is a very explosive fuel. No complete solutions have yet been found to the safe transport of this fuel to the pump for distribution.

Sustainability o Energy Vehicle :

Sustainable energy use is energy use that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their energy needs. Achieving sustainable energy use requires that energy be

Developed from renewable resources Produced by cleaner, more-efficient technologies Used more efficiently and with greater conservation

Almost all of the cars and truc s we drive run on fuels derived from oil, which is non-renewable. !hile there is some debate as to how long this resource will last, we will eventually have to find new ways to power highway vehicles. "esearchers are hard at wor e#ploring new fuels and vehicle technologies$

%ybrids, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are areas of intense research, along with efficient technologies for gasoline and diesel vehicles. "enewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel can help offset petroleum use. &ther fossil fuels such as coal, shale oil, tar sands, and natural gas are another possibility.

'n the meantime, it ma es sense to use fossil resources such as oil more efficiently to buy time to develop new and better energy sources and to ma e the transition to these sources smoother and less e#pensive.