Biofuels and hydrogen may prove better alternatives to electric vehicles

(11/05/2009)

The Government’s target is an 80% cut in emissions by 2050. Road transportation accounts for nearly 70% of all CO2 emissions from passenger transport. 157 million tonnes of CO2 is produced by the UK transport sector.

Business Secretary Peter Mandelson previously announced an offer of £1.3bn in loans from the European Investment Bank to support the ailing car industry in developing new low carbon technology.

Top industry experts recently converged in Reading at the Future Transport Fuels Debate, to debate the future of alternative fuel cars and ask if the Government’s drive for consumers to buy electric is pushing hydrogen vehicles off the road. The event, run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), touched on how biofuels, hydrogen and methanol may prove better alternatives to electric vehicles. The event came just days after the Government’s budget pledge to plough millions into the low carbon sector.

Kicking off the debate was Hugo Spowers, founder of RiverSimple in Herefordshire, the company that designed the Morgan LIFECar and is currently developing a hydrogen cell fuel car for urban drivers, to be launched in June. Mr Spowers revealed why hydrogen should not be overlooked by the Government as a fuel to further the future of low carbon vehicles.

Other speakers taking the floor were Professor Frank Palmer, who has worked as an advisor to the European Commission on biofuels, as well as for both Shell and BP, and Gordon Taylor, a consultant on energy policy and technology for GT Systems in Essex, who works closely with Lotus Engineering. Prof Palmer’s stance was on biofuels from production to emission rates. Mr Taylor highlighted the pros of methanol – another alternative fuel which is the simplest alcohol used to fuel internal combustion engines – and how it can be used to power existing and future low carbon vehicles, focusing on his work with Lotus.

Frank Mugford, Chairman of the IMechE Reading Committee, said: “By hosting the debate, we are hoping to expose some of the irrelevancies about alternative fuels. There are many misconceptions about alternative fuels, especially biofuels, and these issues will all come under the microscope. People will have the opportunity to clear up any worries they have about them and spark up a heated debate!”

Mr Spowers added: “The Government are supposed to be technologically neutral but by offering £5,000 to people willing to buy electric cars, they are not considering alternatives such as hydrogen fuel cells. It is possible to make highly inefficient electric cars but that has not been deemed to be a problem. It is fantastic that they are offering incentives to encourage people to lower their carbon emissions but all types of alternative fuel should be rewarded.”

Encouraging people to choose greener alternatives is at the heart of the IMechE’s work with its members.

Related categories:  Eco fuels   Green cars and environment   Hybrid and electric car