Facts About Hybrid Cars & Alternative Fuel
Automobiles that use at least two different sources for power are considered hybrids. The most common types combine electricity with a conventional internal combustion engine running on some form of gasoline or diesel fuel.
Defining alternative fuel is sometimes case-specific. For example, in cars, battery-powered electric engines are considered alternative, while in golf carts they have been the norm for decades. As demand rises for hybrid cars that use different fuels, knowledge about them is becoming essential.
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Hybrid Electric Vehicles
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The most widely driven and popular hybrid electric vehicle is the Toyota Prius, which first entered the market in 1997. In the Prius, a traditional combustion engine works simultaneously with an electric engine to run the car. It is thought that advancement in battery technologies will bring greater range to the electric motor, decreasing weight and costs while lengthening its life. Alternative batteries like cadmium cells are being explored, while plug-in hybrid electric vehicles can be recharged by attaching them to an electrical source. Complete electric motors benefit from both this feature and better battery technologies.
Bio-fuel
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Bio-diesel and ethanol are the most common bio-fuels used in automobiles. Ethanol is made by fermenting sugars from bio-mass. Rising food prices and scarcity has been blamed on ethanol production because many plants used in the process, such as corn, are also food crops. This has provided motivation for different sources of ethanol. According to the Department of Energy, cellulosic ethanol "is made up of very complex sugar polymers and is not generally used as a food source."
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Hydrogen
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According to hydrogencarsnow.com, the first commercial hydrogen car was leased to a California family in 2005. This was the Honda FCX. Emitting only water vapor is an advantage of hydrogen fuel cells. Disadvantages include massive infrastructure transformation for wide scale use, monetary costs and volatility. Hydrogen does not exist on its own and must be made through processes like electrolysis, which can be expensive. There are hydrogen hybrids, which operate much like HEVs, by powering an electric motor when braking.
Solar
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While different solar-power technologies have made advancements on other fronts, such as general electricity production and solar thermal heating, solar cars have not yet reached commercial status. While a January 2009 Associated Press release announced that Japan's Nikkei newspaper said Toyota is secretly working on a solar car, the truth of this is not known.
Considerations
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Environmental issues arise even with cars that run on "clean" fuels. Electric vehicles have issues with battery disposal, bio-fuels still emit greenhouse gases and any automobile must use natural resources to be constructed. The Obama administration seems to be betting on HEVs as the immediate future. Its "Investing in Our Clean Energy Future" fact sheet states on whitehouse.gov that The American Reinvestment Recovery Act of 2010 includes $39 billion in energy investments and highlights "supporting U.S. manufacturing of advanced batteries needed for plug-in hybrids." There is no specific mention of other alternative-fuel technologies for cars.
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References
- Photo Credit U.S. Department of Energy
