Efficient Vehicles and Fuels
- Improving the Petrol/Diesel Engine
- New Petrol/Diesel Free Technologies
- Government Grants
- Further Information
Improving the Petrol/Diesel Engine
Improved Fuels for Conventional Engines
Sulphur free petrol
Sulphur free petrol (with less than 10ppm sulphur content) will be compulsory by 2009 (EU regulations). BP has been selling it at stations in Edinburgh as a trial.
Biodiesel
GlobalDiesel is a type of biodiesel, supplied by Greenergy - It is a blend of 95% ultralow sulphur diesel and 5% rapeseed oil. This type of fuel can be used with no modification to existing diesel engines and reduces CO2 emissions by up to 5%.
BioEthanol
This fuel may take longer than biodiesel to become widespread but is also desirable from an environmental standpoint. It may be used blended in modem engines without modification or straight (petrol and gas powered vehicles require engine modification to run on high proportions of bioethanol). Ethanol is obtained from distillation of wheat, sugar or bio mass. It is biodegradable, renewable, and produces less local air pollutants than fossil fuels.
Biodiesel and bioethanol also have the following properties:
- Reduced exhaust emissions of many pollutants including particulates, SO and VOC.
- They emit marginally more NO2 than ultra low sulphur fossil fuel but advanced injection timing can cut this pollution.
- Lower toxicity and higher flash points than fossil fuels.
See Renewable Energy Association (REA) for more information on biodiesel and bioethanol.
Low Fuel Usage
Honda's Insight has broken a seven-year fuel economy record in the UK, achieving 2.75 litres per 100 kilometres or 102.65 miles per gallon. The record demolishes the existing UK petrol car record of 85.96 miles per gallon, which was set in a Honda Civic in 1993. The new figure is believed to be a world record for a standard petrol production car on public roads.
Some low impact petrol cars (Source www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk)
- Daihatsu Charade
- Fiat New Punto
- Perodua Kelisa
- SMART City Coupé
- Suzuki Auto
- Suzuki Swift
- Toyota Yaris
- Vauxhall Corsa
Other Routes to Reduced Petrol Consumption
The following tips will help maximise the fuel-efficiency of your car and reduce petrol costs:
- Driving smoothly, with as little sudden acceleration or braking as possible, evens out fuel use and improves the efficiency of your car's engine.
- Keep your car properly tuned for top fuel efficiency.
- Regular oil changes and using good quality oil will save fuel. (Every 3 months or 3,000 miles or 4,800 kilometres) .
- Keep windows closed when travelling at motorway speeds. Open windows cause air drag and can reduce your mileage by 10%.
- Air conditioners can reduce fuel economy by 10% to 20%.
- Don't start and stop the engine needlessly. Idling your engine for one minute consumes the gas amount equivalent to when you start the engine.
- If you cut your average speed from 70mph to around 50mph, you will burn about 25% less petrol.
- The heavier your car is, the more fuel it uses. Most of us have items in the boot that don't need to be there.
- Well-maintained tyres, kept at the proper pressure, are far more fuel-efficient.
- Walk or cycle - A quarter of all car journeys in Britain are less than two miles long, and walking or cycling are cheap and clean alternatives.
- Work from home - More and more employees are finding this an effective alternative, especially with the growth of email and mobile phone use.
- Car share - If everyone who normally drives to work were to get a lift with someone else just once a week, car commuting would fall by around a quarter.
New Petrol/Diesel Free Technologies
Calls have been made for the government to set a deadline for a ban on the sale of petrol cars. A ban has already been set in northern Italy. Therefore, there is increasing pressure to find alternative fuels and technologies.
The Environmental Transport Association has extensive information, including a useful page comparing different types of fuel.
Fuel Cells
The fuel cells being developed for use in cars are powered by hydrogen. The hydrogen reacts with oxygen to create an electrical current which is used to power the motor. The only by-product is pure water, making it a very clean technology.
However, hydrogen is not naturally found in a pure state, and must be extracted, either by splitting water or removing it from other substances such as methanol. This takes a lot of energy, which in turn will create emissions and pollution if fossil fuels are used. To prevent this problem it may be possible to use renewable energy to produce the hydrogen.
There is research into personal hydrogen producers so that people are no longer tied to visiting stations to re-fuel. Stuart Energy, with the backing of Ford, has developed a Personal Fuel Appliance ('PFA') which will enable consumers to produce their own hydrogen at home from just water and a 220V power supply. However, this product will not be launched until fuel-cell cars are mass produced. For organisations, the Community Fueler is available and can be used to supply fleets of vehicles. It is modular and therefore can be expanded to accommodate a growing number of hydrogen vehicles within a fleet.
| Fuel Cells Current Status |
|---|
| The infrastructure for hydrogen provision is still to be put in place in the UK, but some projects are underway. |
| It is expected that we will have to wait till around the year 2010 before hydrogen fuel drops to current petrol retail price-levels. |
| Organisations with vehicle fleets or communities may now purchase a Stuart Energy Community Fueler to supply hydrogen to fuel cell vehicles. Some fuel cell taxis and buses are in use in the UK. |
| The Hydrogen Partnership was Launched in London in April 2002. It includes big businesses, the motor industry and top research experts and is committed to making London a world leader in hydrogen and fuel cell technology. Sponsored by BP and Evobus. |
Fuel cells can also be used to power homes and offices, and there are prototypes being used for laptops and mobile phones.
Natural Gas & LPG
Natural gas is cleaner and cheaper than conventional fuels, but harder to store in vehicles, and is therefore mostly limited to heavy duty trucks and buses. However, the Honda Civic GX is a natural gas vehicle and is available in the US, but not in the UK.
LPG (liquid petroleum gas) comes in two types: propane and butane. About 90 per cent of supplies in the UK are propane and it has been dubbed Autogas. You will save on running costs because a litre of LPG can cost as little as half as much as a litre of unleaded, and it emits less pollutants, including carbon dioxide.
There is support to help convert vehicles to cleaner fuel; see the LPG Association web site, Autogas section, for a list of qualified installers.
It costs around £1000 - 2500 to convert to LPG and you can choose the dual fuel option, where you can also run on petrol when required.
Volvo, Ford, Nissan, Daewoo, Fiat, Citroen and Vauxhall are bringing out cars with an LPG option.
There are 1000 LPG stations and all the locations are listed at the UK Liquid Petroleum Gas Association under autogas.
Oxfordshire LPG stations (Autogas)
| Station | Address |
|---|---|
| Shell Chase | London Road, Bicester (B4100) |
| Shell Pear Tree Services | Woodstock Road, Oxford |
| Autoshop | 38 Middleton Road, Banbury |
| BP-Buckland | A420Buckland, Nr. Oxford |
| BP - Family Farm Service Station | Bicester Road (A34 Northbound), Weston on the Green |
| Countrywide Stores | Banbury Road, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire |
| Didcot Calor & Paving Centre | Rich Sidings, Lower Broadway, Didcot |
| Total Service Station | Ducklington Roundabout, Witney |
| DJ Buxey & Son | Heyford Leys Mobile Home Pk, Camp Rd, Upper Heyford, Bicester (Jct 10 M40 - 1.5 miles) |
| E H Douglas Four Wheel Drive Centre | Edgecote Lane, Wardlington, Banbury |
| Forge Garage Brailes | Nr Banbury, Oxfordshire (on main road between Banbury and hipston) |
| Knowles & Son | Osney Mead, Botley Road (A420), Oxford, Oxon (depot with public access) Please telephone first 01865 249681 |
| Q8 Xpress Budens | 44-56 Oxford Road, Cowley, Oxford |
| Wychwood Landrovers Brizes Lodge | Leafield Road, Flinstock, Nr Witney |
(Source: Liquid Petroleum Gas Association)
Electric and Hybrid Electric
Electric cars have an electric motor which does the work of the engine of a conventional car. Cars with batteries that need to be recharged by plugging them into a mains supply are known as battery electric or EVs. The alternative is to recharge the battery from another fuel source on-board the car, such as diesel or petrol. This is known as a hybrid or HEV vehicle. There are two types of HEV: Series and Parallel. In a series hybrid, all of the vehicle power is provided from one source, such as the battery pack and the internal combustion engine powers a generator that charges the battery. In a parallel hybrid, power is delivered through both paths.
The electric vehicle is effectively zero-emission at its point of use, although electricity must still be generated elsewhere. Generation of electricity at power stations are significantly lower than corresponding vehicle emissions, due to the high efficiency of today's power stations, and it is possible to use renewable energy to recharge batteries.
There have been various reasons why the electric car has not taken off in Britain. However, technology has moved on and some of the arguments are now obsolete, but the bad image remains. One of these arguments is the low mileage of electric vehicles. However, the hybrid vehicles can cover 600 miles on a tank of petrol, and by the year 2010 battery electric vehicles could well routinely be achieving in excess of 200 miles per charge.
Unfortunately the market is not big in the UK at present and the range of cars on offer are severely limited (see section below).
It is possible to convert cars to hybrid electric systems. Conversion seems to cost from around £5000 to £8000 for a small car, so this isn't a cheap option.
It is possible to import electric cars from Switzerland or the USA. However, there are several drawbacks: It is very expensive, you will need to persuade the company to sell rather than lease, it will be left-hand drive and you will have no back-up support in the UK.
Hybrid vehicles available in the UK
Toyota Prius
This 4 door sedan style car has a hybrid system where the battery does not need to be plugged into mains electricity. A full tank will cover around 600 miles. You refuel like a normal car.
Honda Insight
A 2 seat coupe, the Insight returns more than 83 mpg. The battery in this car does not need to be plugged into a mains and is refuelled like a normal car.
Honda Civic Saloon
A 4 door fully hybrid car with 61 mpg and lower emissions than petrol using Civics. Will retail for around £16,000. Available in early 2006.
Lexus RX400 hybrid
This luxury SUV is to be the first of a number of offerings from Lexus. While actual emissions remain to be measured, the RX400 will incorporate hybrid electric / petrol technology.
Electric Cars available in the UK
Peugeot 106
This hatchback is only available upon request. Contact Pat McGivern at Peugeot Motor Co PLC in Coventry - 01203 884 000, email: pmcgivern@peugeot.co.uk
Electric service vehicles available in the UK
Blue Bird Automotive
Customisable delivery floats with exchangeable battery systems. Top charges of 50 miles per pack.
Bradshaw Electric Vehicles
Bradshaw electric vehicles offers small and road sized configurations. With over 30 year's experience, this is one of the UK's larger electric vehicle manufacturers.
Modec
Modec has recently launched an electric 2 tonne payload/50mph/100+ mile range van. They are currently in the process of setting up a new factory in Coventry to start production in January 2007.
Smith Electric Vehicles
An impressive range of industrial, government, healthcare, and airport electric vehicles
VXL Automotive Limited
VXL boasts the fastest milk float in the world at a top speed of 73 mph.
EV and HEV Services
Alternative Vehicles Technology (AVT) is a conversion specialist in the UK and can convert almost any vehicle to electric drive or supply the components required. Typically an AVT conversion will cost from around £5000 to £8000 for a small car.
Europcar - This company in Jersey is the only car rental company in Europe offering electric cars, when Toyota chose Jersey to 'test' its RAV4-EV.
Beta Research & Development (UK) - has some very smart long-range electric buses and minibuses.
TBUS (UK) - The Electric Tbus Group was formed in May 2000 by a number of concerned individuals to promote the re-introduction electric trolley vehicles (Trolleycoaches) in London as a way of bring about a quieter, cleaner, more environmentally benign way of travelling.
Further Information on EVs
EVUK - a UK non-profit website promoting Zero-Emission Electric Vehicles and Related Renewable Energy Technologies.
Government Grants
Energy Saving Trust Refuelling and Recharging Infrastructure Grants are now available to support the development of refuelling stations for vehicles using alternative power. The intention of the grants is to improve uptake of low emissions vehicles such as those powered by hydrogen, bio fuel, bio ethanol, bio gas, natural gas, and electricity.
Further Information
Alternative Vehicles Technology - A vehicle conversion specialist in the UK that can convert almost any vehicle to electric drive or supply the components required. The web site has information on technologies.
BCC Research - Provides news and business information about electric, hybrid and other alternative fuel vehicles, fuels and infrastructure.
AVERE - European network of industrial manufacturers and suppliers for electric vehicles. You can find information on cars under development and on the market worldwide. They also have a catalogue of vehicles available.
Cleaner Vehicles Task Force was set up by the UK Government to bring together Government and others with an interest to address measures to encourage people to build, buy and use vehicles which are more fuel-efficient, less polluting, quieter, and less resource intensive. This web-site includes their report and findings.
EV World - This extensive website provides information for the EV industry as well as educational pages, photos, videos and interviews. It has owners' guides, test drives and all the usual news and discussion groups.
Online Fuel Cell Information Centre - Technical information, benefits, news, report, careers, library, relating to Fuel Cell technology.
The Vehicle Certification Agency provides details of the fuel consumption, exhaust pollution levels and noise levels of most new petrol and diesel cars on sale in the UK, as well as the appropriate Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). Some non petrol/diesel vehicles are included (LPG/CNG).
The Environmental Transport Association (ETA) has a helpful web site with practical fact sheets and lists of useful publications. There is a page comparing different types of fuel, and they also have a "Car Buyer's Guide", which ranks cars on their impact on the environment. Factors taken into account include engine size, fuel consumption, power, speed, noise, and emissions. See the ETA Car Buyer's Guide for details.
