Greener pastures

There are many threads of discussions on clean energy use. The recently concluded US presidential election probably was a catalyst for the uptick in these discussions, particularly in transportation, the area of alternative energy that seems to be most engaging to the average person.. In fact the Go Green” buzzword has gone crossed over from the environmentalists’ domain to the whole world at large. And today industry is responding. The future holds many promises with firms coming up with both fuel-efficient and cleaner options.

Where do we stand right now in terms of live projects of ultra low emission transportation options? Here are some recent advances in the field.

Battery powered cars

In 2008, Tesla Motors began producing the Tesla Roadster – a 100% electric sports car that does 0-60 miles per hour under four seconds a with top speed of around 200 kilometer per hour. That’s pretty fast by any standard, battery or gasoline. The car uses no gasoline and can boast of zero carbon emission (provided the battery is charged from a renewable energy source like solar panels). Single the charge is enough to last for over 350 kilometers. Priced at around $100,000 for two seater, this vehicle has been finding buyers among early adopters.
However, refueling is not as quick as with a vehicle that runs on petrol. It takes about three and a half hours to recharge a fully drained battery. Though it is unlikely to run down a battery before its overnight recharge in urban condition, but it is certainly not practical for long journeys or to places without access to electricity. Another concern is around power supply – if millions of such cars are plugged in, power grids will have to undergo costly grid expansion.

Hydrogen fuel-cell cars

Honda’s FCX Clarity is the world’s first production hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. The outcome of over two decades of research is a non-polluting sedan (the only emission is water vapour) that can travel up to 450 kilometers on one tank and reach a speed of up to 160 kilometer per hour. The car runs on a lithium battery pack and a hydrogen storage tank. Fuel economy of the Honda FCX Clarity is twice than that of a similar size and performance gasoline powered car.

The disadvantage again is the availability of hydrogen filling stations. Even in the US distribution of hydrogen filling station is very sparse. There are just five hydrogen filling stations in the greater LA/Orange County area – where most of the cars are currently leased.

Plane that runs on gas

It is not just automobiles that are turning green. On February 2008, the Airbus A380 became the first commercial aircraft to fly with synthetic liquid fuel processed from gas. The fuel is produced using Fischer-Tropsch process and is known as gas-to-liquids (GTL). The European aircraft manufacturer has admitted it to be a “practical alternative to conventional jet fuel in the short term.”Moreover, GTL enjoys the many other advantages in terms of aircraft fuel burn and virtually free of impurities like sulphur. While the basic science for this has been around for a while, large scale commercial applications are taking off.

I think the next few years are likely to see many more advances such as these.