In what could be a major breakthrough, Joule Biotechnologies announced that it has directly produced fuel from the plentiful carbon dioxide in the air around us using highly engineered photosynthetic microbes.
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Biofuels Breakthrough: Making Fuel From Air With Engineered Microbes
Posted in November 10th, 2009
by Nick Chambers in Biodiesel, Diesel, Ethanol, joule, Joule Biotechnologies, microbes, photosynthesis, Science
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Factory Five Electric ‘33 Ford Roadster Debuts at SEMA
Posted in November 6th, 2009
by Christopher DeMorro in 1933 ford coupe, Biodiesel, Car hacks / Mods, cobra, corvette, daytona, electric, Electric Cars (EVs), factory five, factory five racing, factoryfive, GTM, hot rod, HotRod, Motorsports, SEMA, SEMA 2009, turbine
As I’ve said before, SEMA is not usually a place you expect to see lots of alternative fuel vehicles. But in recent years there has been a paradigm shift, and increasing floor space has been devoted to debuting technologies and cars that conserve gas, rather than waste it.
Factory Five, out of Wareham Massachusetts, is a well-known maker of kit cars based on classic Shelby designs including the Cobra and Daytona. Amp=D has taken one of their kit cars based on the iconic ‘33 Ford and built a powerful electric drivetrain around this handsome hot rod.
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Kansas Students Run Retro VW Beetle on Batteries and Biodiesel
Posted in October 16th, 2009
by Andrew Williams in Batteries, battery, beetle, Biodiesel, Car hacks / Mods, conversion, Ecohawks, hack, hybrid, Kansas, students, super beetle, University of Kansas, Volkswagen, VW
A group of University of Kansas students have rigged up a 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle to run on a mix of biodiesel and battery power.
The team, calling themselves the Ecohawks, claim the quirky hybrid is capable of getting 50 MPG from a series of 10 lead-acid batteries and a biodiesel generator.
Performance-wise, although quite cool looking in a retro kind of way, the car isn’t exactly what you’d call a speedster, topping out as it does at a leisurely 30 mph.
That doesn’t seem to bother team-leader Prof. Chris Depcik though, who told reporters, “We have driven it around and reached approximately 30 mph, but this was more of a proof-of-concept drive without pushing the boundaries. We are currently getting the vehicle into road-ready shape to be driven safely in order to determine these values.” (More pics after the jump).
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The World’s First Sustainable Race Car Makes You Go Yum Yum
Posted in October 5th, 2009
by Joanna Schroeder in American Le Mans Series, Biodiesel, chocolate, EPSRC, Formula 3, IndyCar, Motorsports, Offbeat, race car, vegetables, World First
The concept is good – a completely sustainable Formula 3 race car. But the products used, well, that may be another story. The race car is made from woven flax and carrot pulp as well as recycled carbon fibre and recycled resin. In addition it uses biodiesel made from chocolate and animal fats and is lubricated with plant oils. Hungry anyone?
According to EPSRC funded researcher Dr. Kerry Kirwan with the University of Warwick, the car is not just environmentally friendly, but also fast boasting a top speed of 135 mph and can go 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds. Oh, and did I mention it’s turbo charged to give it more torque?
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Teenage-Built Diesel Hybrid Does 0-60 in 4 Seconds, Soon to Break 100 MPG
Posted in October 5th, 2009
by Jerry James Stone in Automotive X Prize, Biodiesel, Blackberry, diesel-hybrid, Diesels, Eco Cars, green cars, Hybrid Attack, hybrid cars, Hybrid X, Hybrid-electric EVs, MIT, Philadelphia High School
Students from West Philadelphia High School have built a diesel-hybrid race car that goes from 0-60 in four seconds. While the car currently gets 60+ mpg, they hope to soon break 100 mpg.
Why? They are competing for $10 million in the Automotive X-Prize .
Called the Hybrid Attack, the car was built by kids from West Philly’s Academy of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering. And if that alone doesn’t make them cool, they are the only high school team competing out of 90 different teams from the U.S. and overseas.
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