Flexible fuel ian full flex-fuel models from several carmakers, popularly known as "flex" cars, that run on any blend of
ethanol and gasoline(actually between
E20-E25 to
E100). FlexFuel
Chevrolet Impala LT 2009 A
flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) or dual-fuel vehicle (DFF) is an alternative fuel automobile or
light duty truck with a
multifuel engine that can use more than one
fuel, usually mixed in the same tank, and the blend is burned in the
combustion chamber together. These vehicles are
colloquially called
flex-fuel, or
flexifuel in Europe, or just flex in Brazil. FFVs are distinguished from
bi-fuel vehicles, where two fuels are stored in separate tanks. The most common commercially available FFV in the world market is the
ethanol flexible-fuel vehicle, with the major markets concentrated in the United States, Brazil, Sweden, and some other European countries. Ethanol flexible-fuel vehicles have standard gasoline engines that are capable of running with
ethanol and gasoline mixed in the same tank. These mixtures have "E" numbers which describe the percentage of ethanol in the mixture, for example, E85 is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. (See
common ethanol fuel mixtures for more information.) Though technology exists to allow ethanol FFVs to run on any mixture up to E100, in the U.S. and Europe, flex-fuel vehicles are optimized to run on
E85. This limit is set to avoid cold starting problems during very cold weather. Over 65 million
flex fuel automobiles, motorcycles and
light duty trucks by the end of 2021, led by Brazil with 38.3 million and Sweden (243,100 through December 2014). The Brazilian flex fuel fleet includes over 4 million flexible-fuel motorcycles produced since 2009 through March 2015. In Brazil, 65% of flex-fuel car owners were using ethanol fuel regularly in 2009, while, the actual number of American FFVs being run on
E85 is much lower; surveys conducted in the U.S. have found that 68% of American flex-fuel car owners were not aware they owned an E85 flex.
Plug-in electric Battery-electric electric car Battery electric vehicles (BEVs), also known as all-electric vehicles (AEVs), are electric vehicles whose main energy storage is in the chemical energy of batteries. BEVs are the most common form of what is defined by the
California Air Resources Board (CARB) as
zero emission vehicle (ZEV) because they produce no tailpipe emissions at the point of operation. The electrical energy carried on board a BEV to power the motors is obtained from a variety of battery chemistries arranged into battery packs. For additional range genset trailers or pusher trailers are sometimes used, forming a type of hybrid vehicle. Batteries used in electric vehicles include "flooded" lead-acid, absorbed glass mat, NiCd, nickel metal hydride, Li-ion, Li-poly and zinc-air batteries. Attempts at building viable, modern
battery-powered electric vehicles began in the 1950s with the introduction of the first modern (
transistor controlled) electric car – the
Henney Kilowatt, even though the concept was out in the market since 1890. Despite the poor sales of the early battery-powered vehicles, development of various battery-powered vehicles continued through the mid-1990s, with such models as the
General Motors EV1 and the
Toyota RAV4 EV. was the world's top selling highway-capable all-electric car until December 2019. Battery powered cars had primarily used
lead-acid batteries and
NiMH batteries. Lead-acid batteries' recharge capacity is considerably reduced if they're discharged beyond 75% on a regular basis, making them a less-than-ideal solution. NiMH batteries are a better choice, but are considerably more expensive than lead-acid.
Lithium-ion battery powered vehicles such as the
Venturi Fetish and the
Tesla Roadster have recently demonstrated excellent performance and range, and nevertheless is used in most mass production models launched since December 2010. Expanding on traditional lithium-ion batteries predominately used in today's battery electric vehicles, is an emerging science that is paving the way to utilize a carbon fiber structure (a vehicle body or chassis in this case) as a
structural battery. Experiments being conducted at the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden are showing that when coupled with Lithium-ion insertion mechanisms, an enhanced carbon fiber structure can have electromechanical properties. This means that the carbon fiber structure itself can act as its own battery/power source for propulsion. This would negate the need for traditional heavy battery banks, reducing weight and therefore increasing fuel efficiency. , several
neighborhood electric vehicles,
city electric cars and
series production highway-capable
electric cars and utility vans have been made available for retails sales, including Tesla Roadster,
GEM cars,
Buddy,
Mitsubishi i MiEV and its rebadged versions Peugeot iOn and Citroën C-Zero,
Chery QQ3 EV,
JAC J3 EV,
Nissan Leaf,
Smart ED,
Mia electric,
BYD e6,
Renault Kangoo Z.E.,
Bolloré Bluecar,
Renault Fluence Z.E.,
Ford Focus Electric,
BMW ActiveE,
Renault Twizy,
Tesla Model S,
Honda Fit EV,
RAV4 EV second generation,
Renault Zoe,
Mitsubishi Minicab MiEV,
Roewe E50,
Chevrolet Spark EV,
Fiat 500e,
BMW i3,
Volkswagen e-Up!,
Nissan e-NV200,
Volkswagen e-Golf,
Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive,
Kia Soul EV,
BYD e5, and
Tesla Model X. The world's all-time top selling highway legal electric car is the
Nissan Leaf, released in December 2010, with global sales of more than 250,000 units through December 2016. The
Tesla Model S, released in June 2012, ranks second with global sales of over 158,000 cars delivered .
Plug-in hybrid is the world's all-time best selling
plug-in hybrid with 270,000 units sold through December 2020. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) use batteries to power an electric motor, as well as another fuel, such as gasoline or diesel, to power an internal combustion engine or other propulsion source. PHEVs can charge their batteries through charging equipment and
regenerative braking. Using electricity from the grid to run the vehicle some or all of the time reduces operating costs and fuel use, relative to conventional vehicles. Until 2010 most
plug-in hybrids on the road in the U.S. were conversions of conventional hybrid electric vehicles, and the most prominent PHEVs were conversions of 2004 or later Toyota Prius, which have had plug-in charging and more batteries added and their electric-only range extended. Chinese battery manufacturer and automaker
BYD Auto released the
F3DM to the Chinese fleet market in December 2008 and began sales to the general public in
Shenzhen in March 2010.
General Motors began deliveries of the
Chevrolet Volt in the U.S. in December 2010. Deliveries to retail customers of the
Fisker Karma began in the U.S. in November 2011. During 2012, the
Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid,
Ford C-Max Energi, and
Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid were released. The following models were launched during 2013 and 2015:
Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid,
Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV,
Ford Fusion Energi,
McLaren P1 (limited edition),
Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid,
BYD Qin,
Cadillac ELR,
BMW i3 REx,
BMW i8,
Porsche 918 Spyder (limited production),
Volkswagen XL1 (limited production),
Audi A3 Sportback e-tron,
Volkswagen Golf GTE,
Mercedes-Benz S 500 e,
Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid,
Mercedes-Benz C 350 e,
BYD Tang,
Volkswagen Passat GTE,
Volvo XC90 T8,
BMW X5 xDrive40e,
Hyundai Sonata PHEV, and
Volvo S60L PHEV. , about 500,000 highway-capable plug-in hybrid electric cars had been sold worldwide since December 2008, out of total cumulative global sales of 1.2 million light-duty
plug-in electric vehicles. , the
Volt/Ampera family of
plug-in hybrids, with combined sales of about 134,500 units is the top selling plug-in hybrid in the world. Ranking next are the
Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV with about 119,500, and the
Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid with almost 78,000. Other car manufactures also provided engines for ethanol fuel use. In the United States, alcohol fuel was produced in corn-alcohol
stills until
Prohibition criminalized the production of alcohol in 1919. The use of alcohol as a fuel for
internal combustion engines, either alone or in combination with other fuels, lapsed until the
oil price shocks of the 1970s. Furthermore, additional attention was gained because of its possible environmental and long-term economical advantages over fossil fuel. Both
ethanol and
methanol have been used as an automotive fuel. While both can be obtained from petroleum or natural gas, ethanol has attracted more attention because it is considered a
renewable resource, easily obtained from sugar or
starch in crops and other agricultural produce such as
grain,
sugarcane, sugar beets or even
lactose. Since ethanol occurs in nature whenever yeast happens to find a sugar solution such as overripe fruit, most organisms have evolved some tolerance to
ethanol, whereas
methanol is toxic. Other experiments involve
butanol, which can also be produced by fermentation of plants. Support for ethanol comes from the fact that it is a biomass fuel, which addresses
climate change and
greenhouse gas emissions, though these benefits are now highly debated, including the heated 2008
food vs fuel debate. Most modern cars are designed to run on gasoline are capable of running with a blend from 10% up to 15% ethanol mixed into gasoline (
E10-E15). With a small amount of redesign, gasoline-powered vehicles can run on ethanol concentrations as high as 85% (
E85), the maximum set in the United States and Europe due to cold weather during the winter, or up to 100% (
E100) in Brazil, with a warmer climate. Ethanol has close to 34% less energy per volume than gasoline, consequently fuel economy ratings with ethanol blends are significantly lower than with pure gasoline, but this lower energy content does not translate directly into a 34% reduction in mileage, because there are many other variables that affect the performance of a particular fuel in a particular engine, and also because ethanol has a higher octane rating which is beneficial to high compression ratio engines. For this reason, for pure or high ethanol blends to be attractive for users, its price must be lower than gasoline to offset the lower fuel economy. As a
rule of thumb, Brazilian consumers are frequently advised by the local media to use more alcohol than gasoline in their mix only when ethanol prices are 30% lower or more than gasoline, as ethanol price fluctuates heavily depending on the results and seasonal harvests of sugar cane and by region. In the US, and based on EPA tests for all 2006
E85 models, the average fuel economy for E85 vehicles was found 25.56% lower than unleaded gasoline. could be considered when making price comparisons, though E85 has octane rating of about 104 and could be used as a substitute for premium gasoline. Regional retail E85 prices vary widely across the US, with more favorable prices in the
Midwest region, where most corn is grown and ethanol produced. In August 2008 the US average spread between the price of
E85 and gasoline was 16.9%, while in
Indiana was 35%, 30% in
Minnesota and
Wisconsin, 19% in
Maryland, 12 to 15% in California, and just 3% in
Utah. Depending on the vehicle capabilities, the break even price of E85 usually has to be between 25 and 30% lower than gasoline. The adoption of the flex technology was so rapid, that flexible fuel cars reached 87.6% of new car sales in July 2008. As of August 2008, the fleet of "flex" automobiles and light commercial vehicles had reached 6 million new vehicles sold, representing almost 19% of all registered light vehicles. The rapid success of "flex" vehicles, as they are popularly known, was made possible by the existence of 33,000 filling stations with at least one ethanol pump available by 2006, a heritage of the
Pro-alcool program. In the United States, initial support to develop alternative fuels by the government was also a response to the
1973 oil crisis, and later on, as a goal to improve air quality. Also, liquid fuels were preferred over gaseous fuels not only because they have a better volumetric energy density but also because they were the most compatible fuels with existing distribution systems and engines, thus avoiding a big departure from the existing technologies and taking advantage of the vehicle and the refueling infrastructure. This ethanol version of the Taurus was the first commercial production of an E85 FFV. The momentum of the FFV production programs at the American car companies continued, although by the end of the 1990s, the emphasis was on the FFV E85 version, as it is today.
Sweden also tested both the M85 and the E85 flexifuel vehicles, but due to agriculture policy, in the end emphasis was given to the ethanol flexifuel vehicles. Image:Late model Ford Model T.jpg|The
Ford Model T was the first commercial flex-fuel vehicle. The engine was capable of running on gasoline or
ethanol, or a mix of both. Image:Wiki cars1 005.jpg|The 1996
Ford Taurus was the first
flexible-fuel vehicle produced with versions capable of running with either
ethanol (E85) or
methanol (M85) blended with gasoline. Image:BSB Flex cars 190 09 2008 Gol TotalFlex 1 6 2003.jpg|The 2003
VW Gol 1.6 Total Flex was the first commercial
flexible-fuel vehicle in the
Brazilian market, capable of running on any mixture of gasoline (
E20 to E25 blend) and ethanol (
E100). File:E85 fuel pump 7562 DCA 09 2009.jpg|
E85 fuel sold at a regular gasoline station in Washington, D.C.
Biodiesel (B20) pump in the U.S. The main benefit of diesel combustion engines is that they have a 44% fuel burn efficiency; compared with just 25–30% in the best gasoline engines. In addition diesel fuel has slightly higher
energy density by volume than gasoline. This makes diesel engines capable of achieving much better fuel economy than gasoline vehicles.
Biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester), is commercially available in most oilseed-producing states in the United States. As of 2005, it is somewhat more expensive than fossil diesel, though it is still commonly produced in relatively small quantities (in comparison to petroleum products and ethanol). Many farmers who raise oilseeds use a biodiesel blend in tractors and equipment as a matter of policy, to foster production of biodiesel and raise public awareness. It is sometimes easier to find biodiesel in rural areas than in cities. Biodiesel has lower
energy density than fossil diesel fuel, so biodiesel vehicles are not quite able to keep up with the fuel economy of a fossil fuelled diesel vehicle, if the diesel injection system is not reset for the new fuel. If the injection timing is changed to take account of the higher cetane value of biodiesel, the difference in economy is negligible. Because biodiesel contains more oxygen than diesel or
vegetable oil fuel, it produces the lowest emissions from diesel engines, and is lower in most emissions than gasoline engines. Biodiesel has a higher lubricity than mineral diesel and is an additive in European pump diesel for lubricity and emissions reduction. Some
diesel-powered cars can run with minor modifications on 100% pure
vegetable oils. Vegetable oils tend to thicken (or solidify if it is waste cooking oil), in cold weather conditions so vehicle modifications (a two tank system with diesel start/stop tank), are essential in order to heat the fuel prior to use under most circumstances. Heating to the temperature of engine coolant reduces fuel viscosity, to the range cited by injection system manufacturers, for systems prior to 'common rail' or 'unit injection ( VW PD)' systems. Waste vegetable oil, especially if it has been used for a long time, may become hydrogenated and have increased acidity. This can cause the thickening of fuel, gumming in the engine and acid damage of the fuel system. Biodiesel does not have this problem, because it is chemically processed to be PH neutral and lower viscosity. Modern low emission diesels (most often Euro -3 and -4 compliant), typical of the current production in the European industry, would require extensive modification of injector system, pumps and seals etc. due to the higher operating pressures, that are designed thinner (heated) mineral diesel than ever before, for atomisation, if they were to use pure vegetable oil as fuel. Vegetable oil fuel is not suitable for these vehicles as they are currently produced. This reduces the market as increasing numbers of new vehicles are not able to use it. However, the German Elsbett company has successfully produced single tank vegetable oil fuel systems for several decades, and has worked with Volkswagen on their TDI engines. This shows that it is technologically possible to use vegetable oil as a fuel in high efficiency / low emission diesel engines.
Greasestock is an event held yearly in
Yorktown Heights, New York, and is one of the largest showcases of vehicles using waste oil as a biofuel in the United States.
Biogas Compressed biogas may be used for internal combustion engines after purification of the raw gas. The removal of H2O, H2S and particles can be seen as standard producing a gas which has the same quality as compressed natural gas.
Compressed natural gas 1.4, the first
multifuel car that runs as a
flexible-fuel on pure gasoline, or
E25, or
E100; or runs as a
bi-fuel with
natural gas (CNG). High-pressure
compressed natural gas (CNG), mainly composed of methane, that is used to fuel normal combustion engines instead of gasoline. Combustion of methane produces the least amount of CO2 of all fossil fuels. Gasoline cars can be retrofitted to CNG and become bifuel
Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) as the gasoline tank is kept. The driver can switch between CNG and gasoline during operation.
Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) are popular in regions or countries where natural gas is abundant. Widespread use began in the
Po River Valley of
Italy, and later became very popular in
New Zealand by the eighties, though its use has declined. es powered with
CNG are common in the United States. As of 2017, there were 24.5 million
natural gas vehicles worldwide, led by China (5.35 million) followed by
Iran (4.0 million),
India (3.05 million),
Pakistan (3 million),
Argentina (2.3 million), and
Brazil (1.78 million). In Europe they are popular in Italy (730,000), Ukraine (200,000), Armenia (101,352), Russia (100,000) and Germany (91,500), In the United States CNG powered buses are the favorite choice of several
public transit agencies, with an estimated CNG bus fleet of some 130,000. Other countries where CNG-powered buses are popular include India, Australia, Argentina, and Germany. Pike Research reports that almost 90% of NGVs in Latin America have
bi-fuel engines, allowing these vehicles to run on either gasoline or CNG.
Dual fuel Dual fuel vehicle is referred as the vehicle using two types of fuel in the same time (can be gas + liquid, gas + gas, liquid + liquid) with different fuel tank. Diesel-CNG dual fuel is a system using two type of fuel which are diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) at the same time. It is because of CNG need a source of ignition for combustion in diesel engine.
Hybrid electric is the world's best-selling
hybrid electric vehicle, with global sales of almost 4 million units through January 2017. A
hybrid vehicle uses multiple propulsion systems to provide motive power. The most common type of hybrid vehicle is the
gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, which use gasoline (petrol) and electric batteries for the energy used to power
internal-combustion engines (ICEs) and electric motors. These motors are usually relatively small and would be considered "underpowered" by themselves, but they can provide a normal driving experience when used in combination during acceleration and other maneuvers that require greater power. The
Toyota Prius first went on sale in Japan in 1997 and it is sold worldwide since 2000. , there are over 50 models of hybrid electric cars available in several world markets, with more than 12 million hybrid electric vehicles sold worldwide since their inception in 1997.
Hydrogen A
hydrogen car is an automobile which uses hydrogen as its primary source of power for locomotion. These cars generally use the hydrogen in one of two methods: combustion or
fuel-cell conversion. In combustion, the hydrogen is "burned" in engines in fundamentally the same method as traditional gasoline cars. The common
internal combustion engine, usually fueled with gasoline (petrol) or diesel liquids, can be converted to run on gaseous hydrogen. This emits water at the point of use, and during combustion with air
NOx can be produced. However, the most efficient use of hydrogen involves the use of
fuel cells and
electric motors instead of a traditional engine. Hydrogen reacts with
oxygen inside the fuel cells, which produces electricity to power the motors, with the only byproduct from the spent hydrogen being water. A small number of commercially available
hydrogen fuel cell cars currently exist: the
Hyundai NEXO,
Toytota Mirai, and previously the
Honda FCX Clarity. One primary area of research is
hydrogen storage, to try to increase the range of hydrogen vehicles while reducing the weight,
energy consumption, and complexity of the storage systems. Two primary methods of storage are metal hydrides and compression. Some believe that hydrogen cars will never be economically viable and that the emphasis on this technology is a diversion from the development and popularization of more efficient
battery electric vehicles. In the light road vehicle segment, by the end of 2022, 70,200 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles had been sold worldwide, compared with 26 million plug-in electric vehicles. With the rapid rise of
electric vehicles and associated battery technology and infrastructure, the global scope for hydrogen's role in cars is shrinking relative to earlier expectations. File:Hydrogen vehicle.jpg|Hydrogen fueling station in California File:Mirai trimmed.jpg|The
Toyota Mirai is one of the first hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to be sold commercially to retail customers, initially, only in Japan and California.
Electric, fed by external source Electric power fed from an external source to the vehicle is standard in
railway electrification. At such systems usually the tracks form one pole, while the other is usually a single overhead wire or a rail insulated against ground. On roads this system does not work as described, as normal road surfaces are very poor electric conductors; and so electric vehicles fed with external power on roads require at least two overhead wires. The most common type of road vehicles fed with electricity from external source are
trolleybusses, but there are also some trucks powered with this technology. The advantage is that the vehicle can be operated without breaks for refueling or charging. Disadvantages include: a large infrastructure of electric wires; difficulty in driving as one has to prevent a dewirement of the vehicle; vehicles cannot overtake each other; a danger of electrocution; and an aesthetic problem. Wireless transmission (see
Wireless power transfer) is possible, in principle; but the infrastructure (especially wiring) necessary for inductive or capacitive coupling would be extensive and expensive. In principle it is also possible to transmit energy by microwaves or by lasers to the vehicle, but this may be inefficient and dangerous for the power required. Beside this, in the case of lasers one requires a guidance system to track the vehicle to be powered, as laser beams have a small diameter. == Comparative assessment of fossil and alternative fuels ==