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E L L I E
What are the alternative fuels to petrol/diesel in the UK?
Where are they available?
How does the cost compare to regular fuels?
What is stopping consumers using them as much as petrol/diesel?
I was just wondering ...
Answer
Hi Ellie,
There are lots of alternative fuels available in the UK including ethanol, autogas, bioethanol, biodiesel, battery and electric power, hydrogen cells, compressed air, methane, propane (variants of, such as propanol, butane etc) and rape seed oil.
The drawback with all of these is one of availability. Autogas is probably the most common alternative to petrol or diesel but not that many petrol stations sell it, I donât know quite how many but Iâd guess itâs about one in four garages. Itâs not so bad in populated areas but no good in remote locations (according to the FloGas website thereâs 65 stockists in London but only 3 in the whole of the Highlands http://www.flogas.co.uk/79/autogas-lpg-map-uk )
Electric power is gaining in popularity but the drawback is again one of availability, and also that recharging takes several hours. Some large employers such as hospitals and councils have recharging points - which is great as it means you can recharge your car whilst at work. There are recharging kits so you can power your car up from any domestic socket.
Hydrogen fuel cells would seem to be a practical solution. You simply top them up with liquid hydrogen in a similar way to topping up with petrol. The problem is, that according to Wikipedia, thereâs only one place in the UK where you can get hydrogen fuel and thatâs Birmingham University.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_station#Hydrogen_filling_stations
BBC News video: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7351915.stm
The hydrogen is basically fuel that is used to generate electricity, the vehicles themselves are electric vehicles but without the need for lengthy recharging. The only emissions given off from hydrogen powered cars is water. The developers of the technology are hopeful that in the future hydrogen will be much more widely available. Another plus point is that the vehicles are just like any other standard production model, here for example is a photo of the Honda Clarity:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FCX_Clarity.jpg
Cost wise, typically autogas, biofuels and oils are about half the price of regular petrol (£0.70 per litre as opposed to £1.40). Thereâs no price for hydrogen fuel as the only supplier in the UK uses it to power their own fleet of vehicles. The vehicles themselves are very expensive, standard Japanese models such as Nissan and Honda would be around the £60,000 mark, largely because theyâre manufactured in small numbers. With 400 enquiries being received for every one model produced, the manufacturers are looking at making them in much larger numbers; this will reduce the price considerably.
Thereâs also experimental fuels and ones being developed such as photovoltaic and carbon nanotubes, these may become more popular in the future but arenât available yet. In addition there are a number of experimental and one-off vehicles that can be powered from a variety of products including chip fat, animal dung and discarded food.
Hi Ellie,
There are lots of alternative fuels available in the UK including ethanol, autogas, bioethanol, biodiesel, battery and electric power, hydrogen cells, compressed air, methane, propane (variants of, such as propanol, butane etc) and rape seed oil.
The drawback with all of these is one of availability. Autogas is probably the most common alternative to petrol or diesel but not that many petrol stations sell it, I donât know quite how many but Iâd guess itâs about one in four garages. Itâs not so bad in populated areas but no good in remote locations (according to the FloGas website thereâs 65 stockists in London but only 3 in the whole of the Highlands http://www.flogas.co.uk/79/autogas-lpg-map-uk )
Electric power is gaining in popularity but the drawback is again one of availability, and also that recharging takes several hours. Some large employers such as hospitals and councils have recharging points - which is great as it means you can recharge your car whilst at work. There are recharging kits so you can power your car up from any domestic socket.
Hydrogen fuel cells would seem to be a practical solution. You simply top them up with liquid hydrogen in a similar way to topping up with petrol. The problem is, that according to Wikipedia, thereâs only one place in the UK where you can get hydrogen fuel and thatâs Birmingham University.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_station#Hydrogen_filling_stations
BBC News video: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7351915.stm
The hydrogen is basically fuel that is used to generate electricity, the vehicles themselves are electric vehicles but without the need for lengthy recharging. The only emissions given off from hydrogen powered cars is water. The developers of the technology are hopeful that in the future hydrogen will be much more widely available. Another plus point is that the vehicles are just like any other standard production model, here for example is a photo of the Honda Clarity:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FCX_Clarity.jpg
Cost wise, typically autogas, biofuels and oils are about half the price of regular petrol (£0.70 per litre as opposed to £1.40). Thereâs no price for hydrogen fuel as the only supplier in the UK uses it to power their own fleet of vehicles. The vehicles themselves are very expensive, standard Japanese models such as Nissan and Honda would be around the £60,000 mark, largely because theyâre manufactured in small numbers. With 400 enquiries being received for every one model produced, the manufacturers are looking at making them in much larger numbers; this will reduce the price considerably.
Thereâs also experimental fuels and ones being developed such as photovoltaic and carbon nanotubes, these may become more popular in the future but arenât available yet. In addition there are a number of experimental and one-off vehicles that can be powered from a variety of products including chip fat, animal dung and discarded food.
F1 Going to all Cosworths in 2010?
GF4L
http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/Cosworth-is-in-line-to.4767921.jp
Do you think this is right?
Would if even be considered "Fomula One" anymore?
Thursday is the dealline for F1 Teams to agree, do you think it would happen?
It would be set for 2 years and The teams would have the opportunity to refuse the Cosworth kit, but they would only be able to build an engine themselves if it was identical to the ones provided by Cosworth.
Good or Bad?
Answer
Teams have to retain the right to use whatever powerplant they want - if they choose the FIA engine, then great. If they want to spend more on somebody else's engine, then great too. I already feel that the rules on engines are too specific and restrictive as they stand. What F1 needs is more variety, not more conformity,
F1 worked for almost 20 years with F1 cars mostly having the same Cosworth engine as each other, but that was the free choice of the participants in the interests of cost and reliability. I think it is wrong for the FIA to IMPOSE this type of rule on teams, but at the same time I feel it would be great for them to provide a low-cost engine solution to teams who no longer have the budget to produce their own or to buy them from another manufacturer.
Unforunately this idea seems to have the momentum to be passed into law...a kneejerk reaction which teams may come to regret once the credit crisis is over.
Teams have to retain the right to use whatever powerplant they want - if they choose the FIA engine, then great. If they want to spend more on somebody else's engine, then great too. I already feel that the rules on engines are too specific and restrictive as they stand. What F1 needs is more variety, not more conformity,
F1 worked for almost 20 years with F1 cars mostly having the same Cosworth engine as each other, but that was the free choice of the participants in the interests of cost and reliability. I think it is wrong for the FIA to IMPOSE this type of rule on teams, but at the same time I feel it would be great for them to provide a low-cost engine solution to teams who no longer have the budget to produce their own or to buy them from another manufacturer.
Unforunately this idea seems to have the momentum to be passed into law...a kneejerk reaction which teams may come to regret once the credit crisis is over.
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