The tiny Welsh car that runs on hydrogen and emits only water
(CNN)Riversimple, a small independent car manufacturer in rural Wales, is taking a bet that hydrogen vehicles will play a key part in the future of transport.
Creating a market
Air – These AIRPod One prototypes are powered by compressed air, driven by joystick, and can be refilled like a gasoline car at compressed air stations.
Plans for the AIRPod, created by Guy Negre (pictured) head of MDI, have been in the works for two decades, and it is expected to be on the market later this year.
Chocolate and vegetable oil – This British-built “WorldFirst Formula 3 racing car” has a biodiesel engine configured to run on fuel derived from chocolate and vegetable oil. The bodywork, steering wheel and seats are made from various vegetable fibers mixed with resin.
The racing car is 95% biodegradable and can still do 200 km/h around corners. It was unveiled by researchers from Warwick University in 2009.
Beer – New Zealand became the first country in the world to fuel cars using yeast left over from brewing beer in 2015.
The biofuel, called Brewtroluem, is made by a brewery in New Zealand called DB Export.
Solar – While you won’t find many commercial solar cars on the road, people have been building their own models — and racing them — since 1987.
Teams from across the globe compete in the World Solar Challenge – a 3,000 km solar-powered vehicle race between Darwin and Adelaide.
A Dutch car, Nuna 9, (pictured) won the race this year, traveling at an average speed of 81.2kmh.
Liquid nitrogen – This liquid nitrogen-powered vehicle has an insulated tank to hold the liquid nitrogen and two fans at the rear of the vehicle that draw air through heat exchangers. Once the high-pressure nitrogen reaches room temperature it drives a piston engine in the front of the vehicle.
It was built at the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington in 1997.
Hybrid – When it comes to clean technology, hybrid cars currently rule the roads. Gasoline-electric hybrid cars rely on both a gas engine and a battery to provide power, whereas others require a plug in every now and then to reboot.
Toyota leads sales, with more than 10 million Lexus and Toyota hybrid vehicles sold worldwide according tothe company.
Hydrogen – While hydrogen fuel cell technology continues to develop, there are only approximately 7,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the roads, according to the Hydrogen Council. This figure is expected to reach 10,000 by early 2018.
Three popular models include the Toyota Mirai (pictured,) Hyundai Tucson FCEV and Honda Clarity.
Cooking oil – Another popular fuel, biodiesel, is made by combining almost any oil or fat — from rapseed and canola oil to animal fats or recycled restaurant grease — with an alcohol such as ethanol or methanol.
In the UK, the government permits drivers to make 2,500 liters per year without paying duty.
Ethanol – Ethanol (alcohol) can be made from biomass such as corn or sugarcane, or non-food material such as switchgrass, wood chips or municipal waste.
The United States is the world’s top ethanol fuel producer with 15,329 millions of gallons produced in 2016, followed by Brazil with 7,295 millions of gallons. Most cars in Brazil are built to run on both petrol and sugarcane-based ethanol.
Algae – Algae are small aquatic organisms that produce energy from carbon dioxide and sunlight and store it in the form of oil. This can be converted into biodiesel.
This modified Toyota Prius — known as The Algaeus — runs on electricity and biofuels made from algae.
Air – These AIRPod One prototypes are powered by compressed air, driven by joystick, and can be refilled like a gasoline car at compressed air stations.
Plans for the AIRPod, created by Guy Negre (pictured) head of MDI, have been in the works for two decades, and it is expected to be on the market later this year.
Chocolate and vegetable oil – This British-built “WorldFirst Formula 3 racing car” has a biodiesel engine configured to run on fuel derived from chocolate and vegetable oil. The bodywork, steering wheel and seats are made from various vegetable fibers mixed with resin.
The racing car is 95% biodegradable and can still do 200 km/h around corners. It was unveiled by researchers from Warwick University in 2009.
Beer – New Zealand became the first country in the world to fuel cars using yeast left over from brewing beer in 2015.
The biofuel, called Brewtroluem, is made by a brewery in New Zealand called DB Export.
Solar – While you won’t find many commercial solar cars on the road, people have been building their own models — and racing them — since 1987.
Teams from across the globe compete in the World Solar Challenge – a 3,000 km solar-powered vehicle race between Darwin and Adelaide.
A Dutch car, Nuna 9, (pictured) won the race this year, traveling at an average speed of 81.2kmh.
Liquid nitrogen – This liquid nitrogen-powered vehicle has an insulated tank to hold the liquid nitrogen and two fans at the rear of the vehicle that draw air through heat exchangers. Once the high-pressure nitrogen reaches room temperature it drives a piston engine in the front of the vehicle.
It was built at the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington in 1997.
Hybrid – When it comes to clean technology, hybrid cars currently rule the roads. Gasoline-electric hybrid cars rely on both a gas engine and a battery to provide power, whereas others require a plug in every now and then to reboot.
Toyota leads sales, with more than 10 million Lexus and Toyota hybrid vehicles sold worldwide according tothe company.
Hydrogen – While hydrogen fuel cell technology continues to develop, there are only approximately 7,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the roads, according to the Hydrogen Council. This figure is expected to reach 10,000 by early 2018.
Three popular models include the Toyota Mirai (pictured,) Hyundai Tucson FCEV and Honda Clarity.
Cooking oil – Another popular fuel, biodiesel, is made by combining almost any oil or fat — from rapseed and canola oil to animal fats or recycled restaurant grease — with an alcohol such as ethanol or methanol.
In the UK, the government permits drivers to make 2,500 liters per year without paying duty.
Ethanol – Ethanol (alcohol) can be made from biomass such as corn or sugarcane, or non-food material such as switchgrass, wood chips or municipal waste.
The United States is the world’s top ethanol fuel producer with 15,329 millions of gallons produced in 2016, followed by Brazil with 7,295 millions of gallons. Most cars in Brazil are built to run on both petrol and sugarcane-based ethanol.
Algae – Algae are small aquatic organisms that produce energy from carbon dioxide and sunlight and store it in the form of oil. This can be converted into biodiesel.
This modified Toyota Prius — known as The Algaeus — runs on electricity and biofuels made from algae.
The current climate for hydrogen vehicles
How clean is hydrogen?
