Sugar-powered cars 'in 10 years'
Updated on 10 April 2008
Sugar-powered cars could be the sweet solution to traffic pollution, say scientists.
Researchers have found a way to generate hydrogen directly from plant sugar. They expect the breakthrough to provide a cheap and efficient source of green transport fuel.
In future, motorists could be stopping at grocery stores instead of petrol stations to fill up on packets of solid starch or cellulose, say the scientists.
The new process involves combining plant sugars, water, and a cocktail of powerful enzymes - biological catalysts - to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
It overcomes three major hurdles standing in the way of replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen, according to the researchers.
Biochemical engineer Dr Percival Zhang, who leads the development team at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, US, said: "This is revolutionary work. This has opened up a whole new direction in hydrogen research. With technology improvement, sugar-powered vehicles could come true eventually."
Current biofuels consist of ethanol made by fermenting plant material and combustible plant oils. They are burned in traditional internal combustion engines as alternatives to petrol and diesel.
Plant-derived hydrogen, on the other hand, could provide a more environmentally friendly fuel cell power source.
The scientists, who described their research today at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans, are now working to make the process faster and more efficient. At present the amount of hydrogen produced is still too low for commercial applications.
A sugar-fuelled car would be inherently safe because its hydrogen is used immediately, said Dr Zhang. He added that it would also be cheaper and cleaner to run than even the most efficient petrol-driven car.
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