What will you be driving in the future?
Today diesel is now a far more acceptable choice, with companies such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot and Citroen embracing diesel as an energy efficient choice for customers. To drive a diesel is not only more economical at the bowser, but an ecologically positive step.
Of course much more is to come. Just five years ago there were only five cars on the Australian market that could deliver a fuel consumption figure of less than 5.0-litre per 100 kms. Today there are 16 - a number that is set to accelerate.
For most car owners the cost of ownership is conveniently bracketed to mean the cost of fuel. True operating costs embrace a number of factors including depreciation, annual running costs, repairs and tyres as well as fuel
Of course, for most of us it is fuel that is most prominent in any cost analysis. Depending on your weekly travel, it is the most pertinent economic pointer, as every spike at the bowser causes immediate pain. The cost of fuel has skyrocketed disproportionately to supply (there are adequate supplies of oil for several hundred years at least), yet it was only a couple of years back when it broke the $1.00 a litre barrier locally that we started to pay much more attention to the type of vehicle that we drive and fuel that they use. Relatively speaking our fuel is still very affordable, with a recent trip to the UK highlighting how good we have it, with fuel there easily double our bowser cost. Notwithstanding, $100 can be an average fill up for many motorists, and over a month or a year adds up to serious expenditure.
As car owners, we have heard a lot about such things as carbon emissions, fuel availability and possible solutions. For a number of years, we have seen manufacturers wheel out electric and hybrid propulsion vehicles at motor shows and generally recognised the problems they raise rather than possible solutions they may offer.
For a country like Australia where long distances are the norm, hybrid cars appear to nearly be irrelevant. After all, they are generally so small as to be uncomfortable, unable to carry a decent load, yet alone a family, and are far from cheap to purchase. Alternative technologies, such as electric/battery power have very small 200-300km ranges and plug-in points and access to alternative fuels are scarce or non existent. Then there is the cost of replacement batteries - around $3,000 - which some experts say need to be replaced every 3-4 years.
Well, things are changing and Australia is soon to have a number of hybrid cars on sale. Of course, these types of vehicle are not for everyone, and they still are priced at top dollar.
In this review we will break open a few of the fallacies, bring you up to date on alternative fuels, show that alternative power doesn't have to equate to slow and boring, and also look at what's available in Australia that is automotively green. Whether we like it or not, this is going to be the trend for future motoring.
Producing cleaner cars
Car makers are under no illusion that they have a major part to play in the reduction of C02 gases and other harmful by- products of the vehicles that we drive.
Innovative technology is making today's automobiles cleaner and more fuel-efficient than ever. Ongoing advancements in fuels and technology will continue to drive future progress.
Auto engineers have developed sophisticated emissions control technology that is putting cleaner cars on the road everywhere. Catalytic converters use precious metals to reduce smog forming emissions from cars.
Automakers have dramatically reduced evaporative emissions with tighter gaskets, hoses and better fuel tanks. Computers have revolutionised clean vehicle controls by precisely metering the fuel and air that go into the engine, reducing the smog forming emissions coming out of the engine. And, a computer system called aeon-board diagnostics constantly monitors the performance of the vehicle to help keep clean technology working.
As more and more new cars with modern exhaust emissions performance are put on the road, clear improvements in air quality can be seen. This trend is going to continue, even without the further improvements planned for new vehicles in the future, as older, more polluting cars, which are responsible for a large proportion of all vehicle emissions, are replaced with new ones. In fact, anything which could speed up this process, would make a much greater improvement to air quality than the further reductions in the already very low emissions from new cars, because the effect of that will be quite small, and will take a long time to be effective.
Fuel efficient technologies that run on diverse fuels
The most dramatic changes are occurring this century. Car makers have invested hugely in developing diverse vehicles that run on alternative fuels like clean diesel, biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen, and compressed natural gas or that run on hybrid technology using both conventional (petrol or diesel) and electric engines. These advanced technology vehicles are being introduced for sale as quickly as possible. Because consumers, as well as different regions of the world, favour different technologies, car makers are developing a range of automobiles that run on different fuels.
Alternative fuels
BioDiesel
BioDiesel is a transport fuel oil made mainly from organic vegetable oils by a production process called transesterification. General feedstocks for such an oil are soybean or rapeseed.
All modern diesel engines can run on up to 5 percent bio-diesel and higher concentrations up to 10 percent can be used in some vehicles, subject to limits set by the vehicle manufacturer.
Example Vehicles:
-Mercedes Benz E320 BluTec Diesel
-Volkswagen Touareg
CNG
CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) is composed primarily of methane. It is stored under pressure on the vehicle at pressures up to 250 bar (3600 pounds per square inch). CNG cylinders are manufactured to internationally approved standards and made from light, high strength composite materials.
There are three types of Natural Gas Vehicle: Dedicated, Bi-Fuel and Dual Fuel. Dedicated vehicles run on natural gas only.
Bi-Fuel vehicles operate on CNG whilst retaining the ability to use petrol as a reserve fuel. The engine can operate on either fuel but not on both simultaneously. The compression ratio of the engine must remain at a level suitable for petrol. Currently this type of engine is used almost exclusively on vehicles below 3,500kgs.
Dual Fuel engines are derived from diesel engines. A small amount of diesel is retained as a pilot source of ignition. The primary fuel, Natural Gas, is mixed with the incoming air as the bulk fuel. Because of its relatively high Hydrogen content it produces less CO2 (and more H2O) than gasoline or diesel which have a higher proportion of carbon. It also burns at a lower temperature and so generates less NOx.
Example Vehicles
-Honda Civic GX CNG
-Opel Zafira CNG
Battery Powered Electric Vehicles
Battery Powered Electric Vehicles have been around in limited quantities for some time and have practical applications for inner city use because of their zero local emissions, but if the energy to recharge the batteries is generated using fossil fuels, there is no overall environmental advantage. In addition, the limited range provided by even the best current battery technology is a limiting factor in their usefulness for general use.
Nevertheless, they have their place - especially where they can be recharged using electricity which is generated without using fossil fuels - and the electric vehicle technologies that auto manufacturers have developed for battery powered vehicles will provide the basis of future fuel cell powered vehicles.
Example Vehicles
-Daimler Chrysler Gem Electric
Ethanol
Ethanol or Ethyl Alcohol can be made chemically from petroleum or by the more traditional method of fermenting sugar derived from vegetable matter. In this case it is often known as "bio-ethanol".
The main sources of sugar required to produce ethanol are fuel or energy crops, grow specifically for energy use and include cereals, sugar beet, sugar cane and maize. Obviously there is a possible conflict between the need to grown these crops for food and for fuels, and next generation processes to derive sugar by hydrolysis from waste straw, sawdust, grass and other cellulose sources are now being piloted. There is also ongoing research into the possible use of municipal solid wastes.
Ethanol is a high octane fuel and can be used as an octane enhancer in gasoline.
Many gasoline engines can use gasoline with up to 10% ethanol. For higher concentrations, specially designed engines are necessary. These are usually "flexible fuel engines", which are equipped to detect the level of ethanol concentration and adjust their tuning accordingly.
The main environmental benefit of bio-ethanol is that the CO2 generated when it is burned comes originally from the atmosphere. The plants used to make ethanol absorb CO2 as they grow, so the cycle of making and then burning bio-ethanol does not increase atmospheric CO2.
Example Vehicles
-Jeep Grande Cherokee Ethanol
-Chevrolet Impala Ethanol
Hybrid
Two main types of hybrid-electric vehicles exist, and they have different advantages and different applications, but both have fuel efficiency advantages over conventional internal combustion engined vehicles.
Parallel hybrids can run simply on battery power when zero emissions are required - say in the city - and purely on their parallel internal combustion engine for higher speeds and/or longer distances. In this mode they can also recharge the battery for the next phase of battery operation. In addition, they can usually use both power sources together to give additional acceleration, and this means that the internal combustion engine can be relatively small and low powered, and largely avoid inefficient "transient" operation, because of the boost provided by the battery power.
Series hybrids run solely on battery power in all conditions, with a relatively small internal combustion engine available to recharge the batteries when zero emissions are not required and to act as a "range extender".
Because the internal combustion engine is only driving a generator, it can run at a constant speed and reasonably constant load, which is very efficient.
The Fuel Cell is a means of converting the chemical energy in a fuel directly into electricity, very efficiently, without any burning, which is a wasteful process with undesirable side effects (like pollutants).
The fuel cell principle has been known for many years but they only became usable devices thanks to the space race - NASA developed usable fuel cells to provide safe, clean, efficient electricity generation in space craft. Other organisations, including auto manufacturers, have further developed them for commercial use.
Although fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are still an emerging technology and are not likely to be in mass production for some years yet, they are seen by many as the long term solution for personal transportation energy. Fuel cells have the potential to very significantly reduce energy use and pollution and also to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
Like series hybrids, FCVs operate solely on electric power, but in this case there is no need for a battery or an internal combustion engine as the fuel cell does the job of both, and does so more efficiently.
FCVs are fuelled with hydrogen, either stored on board, under pressure or in liquefied form, or converted from hydrogen rich fuels, such as methane (CNG) or methanol, using an onboard device called a "reformer.”
FCVs fuelled with pure hydrogen emit no pollutants, only water and heat, while those using hydrogen rich fuels and a reformer produce only small amounts of pollutants.
Source: www.fueleconomy.gov
Example Vehicles
-Toyota Camry Hybrid
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is often called the fuel of the future because it contains no carbon (and therefore produces no CO2) and it can be made from water.
However there are considerable problems to be overcome:
-the amount of energy required to make it, by separating the hydrogen and oxygen in water,
-its highly explosive nature when mixed with oxygen
-its very low density (the lightest material in the universe!) and consequent low energy density.
So it is likely to be some years before it becomes a serious contributor. Nevertheless, car manufacturers are already working hard on the technology to use hydrogen in internal combustion engines, and in the longer term in fuel cells, which produce electricity directly from the fuel, without burning, making it more efficient and much cleaner than a combustion engine.
Example Vehicles
-Mercedes-Benz F-Cell
-Honda FCX Hydrogen
-Hyundai Tucson Hydrogen
LPG
LPG is the generic name for commercial propane and commercial butane. These are hydrocarbon products produced by the oil and gas industries.
Commercial propane predominantly consists of hydrocarbons containing three carbon atoms, mainly propane (C3H8).
Commercial Butane predominantly consists of hydrocarbons containing four carbon atoms, mainly n- and iso - butanes (C4H10).
Both propane and butane become liquid at ambient temperature if moderately compressed, and revert to gases when the pressure is sufficiently reduced. Advantage is taken of this property to transport and store these products in the liquid state, in which they are roughly 250 times as dense as they are as gases.
LPG is used as a fuel in positive (spark) ignition engines, which can be specifically tuned for LPG or run as bi-fuel engines with gasoline and LPG, using a fairly simple switch-over device. Because of its relatively high hydrogen content it produces less CO2 (and more H2O) than gasoline which has a higher proportion of Carbon. It also burns at a lower temperature and so generates less NOx.
(LPGA Website - www.lpga.co.uk)
State of play
An industrial revolution is nearly on us as car makers going electric and hybrid is rapidly becoming the flavour of the month.
The green car market will take a major leap forward next year when Toyota releases the new Prius, Mitsubishi rolls out its electric i MiEV and a host of hybrids from Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Honda are all likely. Similarly, expect to see more cleaner and efficient diesel engines offered, as diesel technology has in many respects raced past that of traditional internal combustion engines.
This radical change in attitude to electric vehicles has resulted in huge new financing from governments and tough new emission laws that will boost sales. Now all car makers must offer electric versions in their line up or face oblivion as governments finally get serious about global warming, oil running out and the domino effect of imminent collapse of their traditional car industries.
Different rates of adoption
According to Dr Peter Harrop, Chairman, IDTechEx, a UK think tank organisation, the pure electric versions are taking off more slowly because their success is heavily dependent on potential pollution laws, improvements in battery life and the range they provide, availability of more versions that are fully crash tested and suitable for major highways and more versions that are very low cost.
They start from a much poorer base because most of the early sales are simply golf cars to a saturated market on golf courses and lacklustre sales of Neighbourhood Electric Vehicles NEVs because of old designs and lack of scale. However, IDTechEx is sure that electric cars of all sorts will be responsible for around 20 percent of global car sales in 2019, even though fuel cells may still be a side issue at that time. Harrop agrees with some manufacturers that project hybrids being 25 percent of car sales in 2025, at which time, sales of pure electric cars may be 10 percent of global car sales. Many manufacturers of pure electric cars now offer lithium batteries and range of 200 to over 5000 kms and these are not like the ugly duckling, fragile, old golf cars and neighbourhood vehicles.
They are "real" on-road cars and marketed as such. Some of these manufacturers of pure electric cars are laying down production lines to make hundreds of thousands yearly.
According to a report "EV Cars - Hybrid and Pure Electric 2009-2019", prepared by IDTechEx, manufacturers are investing tens of billions of dollars in developing, manufacturing, components and technology for electric cars.
The outlook is very promising with technology breakthroughs including safe lithium batteries that last ten years, ones that charge in minutes, albeit with special chargers, affordable and luxury pure EV cars with 500 km range, and a wide choice of plug in hybrids very soon.
Many new battery chemistries look promising for the future. Some of the new electric cars generate at least some of their electric power from solar cells on the vehicle. In future they may generate electricity in part from shock absorbers, transparent solar cells over windows and - thermo-electrically - from the engine and exhaust in hybrids. All these possibilities are now the subject of research and development.
There are better super capacitors coming along to overcome the shortcomings of batteries by being connected to them and even the painfully named supercabatteries may prove useful. They combine the virtues of both. These and other innovations provide a credible technological road map for electric cars.
Denmark now has a program to install 20,000 EV charging points for EV cars across the country and the race is on for viable plug in hybrids to be offered by all major manufacturers worldwide. Most countries are making progress in replacing dirty power stations, so using grid electricity will become a green activity and a very low cost one for the car owner according to the report. Electric cars are predicted to account for 35 percent of all cars manufactured by 2025.
