Alternative power?

Question

" Why are we not researching alternative forms of fuel that vechiles can run on , hydrogen , oxyagen ect ? "

Answer 1

I think you will find a lot of companies are investing a lot of money in researching hydrogen fuel cells for vehicle power.

Oxygen is not a fuel.

One site chosen at random

http://www.fuelcellsuk.org/Default.htm

Answer 2

There is plenty of research, the unfortunate fact of the matter is, that unless and until the price of oil rises dramatically, both business and Government don't see the economic advantages in investing large sums of money into these projects.  

You have to remember, we have spent a LOT of money creating the infrastructure we already have.  To retrofit around 43 trillion dollars worth of established systems the oil price would have to be in excess off $200 a barrel to be economically viable.  

There is nothing as energy rich as oil, nothing as cheap to extract and refine, in fact, there is no one thing that can replace it, and we are beginning to run out of it.  Perhaps when more people realise this, they might do something about it.

http://www.lifeaftertehoilcrash.net

Answer 3

We are.  There is a project called Project X that is wrapping up where colleges are designing a SUV that is environmentally friendly.  There are other companies that are investigating fuel cells and other sources of energy.  Just because you do not hear it on the main stream circuits doesn't mean that it's not there.

Answer 4

Do you live under a rock?  

Oxygen is not a fuel.

Hydrogen research is all fine and good, the problem is we need energy to make the hydrogen.  The amount we get back from using it CANNOT exceed what we put into it to get it.

Answer 5

How did you ever come up with that idea???

Everyone is doing research on alternative forms of energy.  You can look up the Department of Energy for ideas,or here is another link with 100 of the most promising technologies.

http://www.peswiki.com/index.php/Congres...

One note:  Corn based Ethanol is not a good idea (unless you are a corn farmer).

Answer 6

Mine is.Its running wvo.

Answer 7

Tons of research is being done on alternative fuels.

Bio-fuels from corn like the Bush government has backed is just ridiculous. Its costs are too high in burned fuel to grow, harvest and transport; in insecticides; in fertilizer; in land use.  At today's rate of oil use we would need 100 times the land under production now overall just for bio-fuels.

A better bio-fuel option would be sweet grass which can be grown on poor land with no fertilizer or insecticides.  It grows thickly so land use and harvesting is optimized.

Using waste bio matter we can also create more bio-fuel.

But, bio-fuels will need to be only part of the answer.  Bio-fuels should only be available close to areas of production.

Methane is a great fuel that was brought to note in the 70s.  The next target greenhouse gas will be methane because it is 26 times as poerful a greenhouse gas as CO2.  Well, let's burn it as fuel.

Garbage dumps produce lots of methane.  This methane can be captured and sold as a fuel offsetting the cost of running our dump sites.  Manure, including human waste, can produce tons of methane.  Cattle and pig farms are really missing the boat by not producing methane from the waste.  Not only could they use the fuel to run their tractors and trucks but they could heat their homes too.  Think about the costs they could save!  Also, while producing methane from the waste they would also be producing fertilizer for their land,

Hydrogen is a partial answer, too.  It is becoming less and less expensive to produce; both chemically and electrically.  Fuel cells are becoming better and better and internal combustion engines can be made to use hydrogen efficiently.

Electric cars are now becoming more and more available.  Unfortunately in cold northern climates the efficiency is drastically reduced in winter and you need to heat your car too.

Answer 8

Economics.  There isn't a reasonable expectation that the investment will pay off; there are too many physical limitations to overcome.

Answer 9

Hydrogen has already been researched and found safe.   Now we just need a good sorce of hydrogen and the multi billion $ infrastructure to make it a reality.

Answer 10

Many companies and individuals are. GM alone has spent billions on Hydrogen power. There are electric cars, air driven cars, etc. There is a ton of money to be made by the ones that can come up with a good system that is affordable and practical.