Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel

Lotus Engineering has been hard at work developing new engine technologies that allow the use of sustainable alcohol fuels. It's recent Exige 270E Tri-Fuel concept showed that the British firm knows how to make an engine run on various fuels, including gasoline, ethanol and methanol. In fact, the 270E Tri-Fuel concept was the most powerful Exige ever conceived by the Hethel-based company and made its highest power output using synthetic methanol fuel. Lotus has started a new research project called the OMNIVORE engine -- cleverly indicating that it will run on anything -- that uses a single cylinder with direct injection and a variable compression ratio in order to maximize power and efficiency while running on various alcohol fuels. The higher octane rating of alcohol fuels will allow the engine to run with higher compression, thereby offering more power, while also toning itself down to run on lower-grade fuels as well. Read the press release after the break for more details.


[Source: Lotus]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel

While assorted activists, politicians and random individuals carry on about the spectres of global warming, imported oil, CO₂ emissions and other issues that combine to create timetable-free doomsday scenarios, there are people working on potential solutions that do not involve us driving around four-wheeled Segway scooters. That's right: the "dreaded" internal combustion engine might yet provide the answer -- or at least an answer. And because Lotus is the entity searching for the answer in this particular case, the end result might not only be green -- it looks ridiculously fun, too.

The car you see here is the Geneva-bound Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel concept, the successor to 2006's Exige 265E, which made 265 horses running on E85. The 270E goes a step further. Not only can it run on gasoline or ethanol, it achieves its peak output -- 270 horsepower and 184 lb-ft -- on methanol, hence the Tri-Fuel label. Incidentally, that power figure is the highest yet for an Exige coming out of Hethel. Even more interesting, however, is Lotus' research into producing carbon-neutral synthetic methanol. You can read about it in detail after the jump, but in summary, the process involves using atmospheric CO₂ and reacting it with hydrogen created via renewable electrical power to create methanol. Liquid methanol could be transported and distributed much in the same way gasoline is now, making for a feasible infrastructure if the idea were to take hold somewhere down the line.

Lotus is also hunting for solutions involving EVs, as well as optimizing the traditional gasoline-powered ICE through its Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Group. One must admit, however, that the idea of a sustainable, synthetic, carbon-neutral fuel driving internal combustion engines with the same levels of power we currently enjoy is the equivalent of having your cake and eating it. Press on, Lotus.


[Source: Lotus via AutoblogGreen]

Robert Zubrin thinks so. Zubrin is an aerospace engineer and long-time advocate of manned missions to Mars. While going to Mars is a highly dubious proposition given the issues we need to deal with on our planet right now, making all gasoline engines flex-fuel capable as Zubrin promotes in his new book is probably a very good idea. The incremental cost of flex-fuel capability is only about $100 per vehicle and that would provide the ability to use any alcohol fuel including methanol and butanol. The corn ethanol that we use today will make little if any dent in our oil imports.

Cellulosic ethanol, methanol and butanol do hold a lot of promise, though. Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit and his wife, Helen Smith, have an interesting interview with Zubrin on their podcast that's worth a listen. Some of Zubrin's arguments for using alcohol fuels are a bit over simplistic and ignore some of the pitfalls associated with them. That includes draining fields of nutrients if all the leftover material is converted to fuel. Alcohol fuels are unlikely to free us from oil dependence on their own, although they can make a dent. What they can really do is help diversify energy supplies and domestically produced fuels can also help to fund research into other renewable energy sources. What we really need to do, however, is find different ways to reduce our total consumption of energy while maintaining our current lifestyles. Let the flames begin!

[Source: Instapundit]

From sister-blog Engadget comes word of an adorable new Suzuki that should have people rolling in the aisles. Not because it's funny looking, but because it will offer mobility to those who need the aid only a wheelchair can provide. And guess what? It's one of the greenest vehicles on the planet too. Ditching the old-school lead-acid batteries of its forefathers, the new Suzuki MIO uses a so-right-now fuel cell-powered motor. Well, it doesn't forego batteries altogether, using a "large capacity Li-ion secondary battery." Range should be around 25 miles per 4 liter methanol fill-up.

And check out the other slick features on this broken-hip whip. The MIO uses armrests that double as safety barriers, ergonomic handlebars, a ventilated mesh seating surface, and an LCD panel that displays fuel level and power status. Suzuki insists the MIO is simply a prototype, and offers no pricing details while it "judges consumer interest."

[Source: Engadget]

Yesterday marked a historical milestone for open-wheel racing and for the movement towards alternative energy motorsports as former IndyCar champions Tonny Kanaan and Sam Hornish Jr. ran tests on 100% ethanol fuel. The champs ran the new 3.5-liter Honda V8s around the road course at Daytona all day without incident, marking the first time open-wheel racing has been run on a completely renewable fuel source, in advance of the series' shift to ethanol for the 2007 season.

The drivers' performance was competitive against Scott Dixon and Vitor Meira who ran on the 2006 mixture of 10% ethanol and 90% methanol; all drivers clocking comparable lap times.

The historical significance of the day of testing was even further enhanced by the venue, as this was the first time since 1959 that Indy cars ran at Daytona.

[Source: The Auto Channel]

The Seattle Times reports that the Washington State Department of Ecology has sent a warning to a biodiesel-crushing plant in the state that it is releasing methanol, a toxic vapor, without a permit. Further investigation has shown spilled vegetable and biodiesel oil on the premise, as well. The landlord has ordered a halt on all biodiesel production.

The investigation comes at a bad time for biodiesel supporters. Plans such as building ten biodiesel plants in other parts of the state are threatened as the State Department and biodiesel companies such as Air-Energy, which had invested in such plants, clash over issues from lack of permits to proper waste management.

[Source: Seattle Times]