For more than a century, we have depended on oil to fuel our autos. But did you know that the planet’s oil is close to drying up because it’s a nonrenewable resource? Well that won’t happen tomorrow or next year but we get closer due to the demand in the world market. Why wait for that day when we can rely on a green energy source like water to power our vehicles.
Water can power an auto? If you think that's impossible, well it is here but this isn't yet being made on a commercial scale.
The German car manufacturer BMW has produced the world’s first hydrogen powered car. While only 100 of these units were produced, you can already imagine if more of these autos are on the road.
The initial model namely, the BMW Hydrogen 7 uses the body of the 760i model. When you pop the hood, you will notice the engine is different since it uses gas and hydrogen.
This just means we’ve not yet totally deserted our dependance on gas. Given more cash and time, the present 4.7 miles per gallon it can travel using water alone could hit double digits in the future.
The largest challenge to using water as a green energy source as opposed to oil in automobiles is the engine. While there are automobiles around like the Prius which runs on gas and electricity thanks to fuel cell technology, the hydrogen combustion is less than 10 years old so you could say we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg.
To stop the water from evaporating, this must be stored in a giant, 30-gallon, bi-layered and highly insulated tank so this does not evaporate into pressurised gas. Another safety mechanism is the valves which are engineered to open should the pressure within the tank surpasses 5 bars.
With the successfulness of the BMW H7, the company came out with a new auto that’s also partly powered by water called the H2R. While we cannot yet put our garden hose into the fuselage to fill it up, this auto uses liquid nitrogen as a fuel.
Tests on this automobile have shown it can achieve 285hp and reach a top cruising speed of 185.5 MPH. It can also accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH under 6 seconds.
But why use water? It is often because hydrogen combustion is clean so it does not emit dangerous gases into the atmosphere unlike cars that run on gas or diesel that emit carbon monoxide. Research has proven that it also weighs less than hydrocarbon-based fuels and burns quicker than standard gas.
So when can you expect to purchase a car that utilises water as a home made energy source? Hopefully in the following 10 to 20 years. It is truly up to the automakers because all we are able to do is wait till a better and cleaner car hits the dealership.
At the moment, the best choice we have are electrical cars. Since its introduction in 1999, more folk are using it because they don’t need to spend anymore for gas that would hit an all time high of more than $110 per barrel.
If water as a green energy source can be used to power a car, why don’t we do the same for solar power which has been around much longer?
Sarah Green is an environmental campaigner, activist, and strong disciple of making home made energy and being energy self-sufficient. In her free time, she reports on DIY alternative energy plans and kits, for example the ben ford homemade energy download.