Hybrid cars are finding their place in the market and on the roads now with their evergreen and everclean policies. To push this technology further, here’s a new fuel injection system that will help hybrid cars deliver more than the do today. Developed by Transonic Combustion, this system helps increase fuel efficiency by heating and pressurizing gasoline before injecting it into the combustion chamber. This allows for a very fast and clean combustion which decreases the amount of fuel required to power up the vehicle. The system also uses supercritical fluids and does not require a spark to ignite fuel. Heat and pressure helps the fluid combust without the need of a spark.

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Iwatani Corp unveiled the concept for a bike running on a Li-ion battery charged by using a hydrogen fuel cell at the FC Expo. The bike can run for approximately 45km if the 26V, 4Ah battery is completely charged and the hydrogen cartridge is full. The Li-ion battery is charged using a Proton-Exchange Fuel Cell (PEFC) system which can produce around 60W of power. This PEFC system consists of a Hydrogen cartridge, a coupler for connecting the cartridge an adjusting valve to regulate the pressure of hydrogen coming from the cartridge, a PEFC and a blower for sending air to the PEFC. The hydrogen cartridge with an internal capacity of 0.25l of can store around 7g of hydrogen.

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A 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa has been put up for sale on eBay. The unusual thing about this offer is that the car has been converted to run on electric power. According to the information provided by the seller, the car uses a 144V AC 24 conversion kit costing around $10,000 made by Electroauto. Although the exact information is not provided by the seller, according to Electroauto sources, the car can hit a top speed of 90mph and can cover approximately 50 miles (depending on the driving conditions) on a single charge of its 18V lead acid battery which is mounted as low as possible for good balance.

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The South Koreans are taking the concept of greener public transport seriously and are currently working on a way to power up using technology similar to that found in electric toothbrushes and razors! This electric transport system is powered by recharging strips embedded in roads. These transfer energy through magnetic connections. The vehicles have sensor-driven magnetic devices attached below that juice up as the move over the embedded strips. These recharging strips are attached to electric stations which are laid in bus lanes and roads. Meters of these strip segments are laid below the road powering up the vehicles.

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John Carnett, a ‘Popular Science’ photographer and inventor has literally taken all terrain driving to a new a new level by integrating a jet-turbine engine into a regular Polaris RZR all-terrain vehicle donated by Polaris. Although obtaining the jet engine was a big problem, Carnett managed to secure an engine used in a power generator for a military base in 1960. Though, you might expect this setup to achieve an otherwise unattainable speed, its top speed is almost the same as that of a regular RZR fitted with a stock engine. However, the difference is that, with the jet engine it can achieve this speed in seconds and continue on it without any problem. To build the Whirl(that is what this project is called), Carnett required 10 months of efforts and more than $15,000. However the end result was something to be cherished. The jet-turbine engine is mated with a gear reduction box which changes its output of 8000 RPM to an effective of 3650 RPM.

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Toyota has jumped aboard the Clean Energy Partnership bandwagon and will help promote low emission and zero emission vehicles in Europe. Five FCHV advanced fuel cell vehicles based on the Highlander will be provided by Toyota for the CEP test fleet in Berlin and Hamburg in Germany. The company will also tie up with CEP member Total and will develop hydrogen fueling stations in Germany. To start off with, the company will first build a CO2-free facility at the Berlin-Brandenburg Airport.

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The NVL Quant is sure burning in its magnificent glory at the Geneva Motor Show. Developed by NVL Solar and Koenigsegg, this car will be production ready by next year, which means this awesome super car will burn the asphalt soon! This environment friendly car sets an example to super car makers around the globe using two battery systems, four electric motors dedicated to each wheel, a carbon fiber chassis and a futuristic thin-film coated photovoltaic body. The body of the car helps convert solar energy into electricity which is then used to power up this vehicle with a power conversion efficiency of 38% with a maximum of 50%.

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Solar energy is increasingly being used to power day to day things. However, a train running on solar energy was too much to think about, up until now. However, an idea initiated under the SolarBullet Campaign aims to make a solar bullet train available between Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. This zero emission means of travel will drastically reduce the commute from two and a half hours to half an hour. These bullet trains, which will run at approximately 220 miles per hour, would be realized by covering the tracks with huge solar panels taking advantage of the abundance of solar energy in that region.

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Volkswagen’s efforts to save energy have paid off. The company launched an energy saving program back in 2005 and hooked itself up on reorganizing office equipment and infrastructure that was finally completed last year. Volkswagen proudly announced that these efforts have helped save up on 9.26 million kilowatt hours of energy per year. This is around 86% reduction in the company’s consumption as compared to the figures back in 2005. The total energy saved will be enough to power up 1,400 households annually.

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Bored of drinking coffee? Well, you can give your cup of coffee to this car and it’ll drink it up! It may sound extraordinary, but this car does run on coffee. It costs around 25 to 50 times more to get this car up and running compared to a petrol powered car. So, it isn’t really an alternative. Christened as the “Car-puccino”, this £400 modified 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco will be driven 210 miles between Manchester and London powered by roasted coffee granules. Built by a team known as Bang Goes The Theory, the car will be unveiled at the Big Bang science fair in Manchester. The Carpuccino will go three miles per kilo of ground coffee, which totals up to about 56 espressos per mile. 70 kilos of ground coffee costing between £910 and £1,820 will be used for this journey.

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Yet another electric motorcycle pops its green environment minded head up. This time, it’s a Norwegian prototype model based on the Honda chassis. With a sliced of tail and a stripped out motor, this bike has stacks of Nickel-Metal batteries rumbling in its stomach instead. The custom bodywork on the bike just adds to its appeal. That’s not all. Technology pushes the bike further to the futuristic edge with a cool touchscreen dash powered by Ubuntu. It displays bike stats like the speed, temperature, etc. and also GPS navigation. This bike was fashioned and built by Green School Motorcycles and Akershus University College.

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Handicrafts and handmade clothes will always speak of exotic quality, but handmade EVs seem out of the box. Made by a Japanese company known as Takeoka Jidosha Kogei, these handmade electric cars are chiseled into being from scratch by human hands. The two-seater Eco Beagle by the company is made in a garage workshop. However, being manufactured by hand doesn’t really make these electric cars anymore expensive. The car does have its limitations though. With a top speed of 37 mph, the car can go 45 miles on a single charge. The company also manufactures five more models, none measuring more than 10 feet and weighing between 660 and 1,600 pounds. The company took up the task in 1990 and builds just 100 cars a year.

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This is one sofa that won’t sink in water, allowing you to relax and even travel on it. Known as the ‘sofa boat’, this electric boat was the twinkle in the eyes of spectators at the Abu Dhabi Yacht Show. These were used to ferry visitors around to get a glimpse of superyachts, pontoons and marinas. Powered using electricity, the boat is basically a 3.5 meter platform with a folding sun canopy covering the sofa-like seating area. The boat is steered using a joystick and has a soft foam bumper allowing transport in crowded marinas. These low noise boats have zero carbon emissions and can be charged via an electric socket. Its batteries power it up for 12 hours. The boat was designed by Abra Marine and the company currently has a solar powered one under development. The solar counterpart of this boat will be powered by seven square meter solar panels that will generate 1,000W allowing it to run for 10 hours. The B2B version of this boat has laptop docking points and a fridge for refreshments on the go!

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In collaboration with Sunpods Inc. from California, Bauer Intelligent Transportation has developed a solar powered assist system specially designed for buses. This will help the company meet the strict rules laid down by the State Of California to curb pollution. This system developed in just 6 weeks uses four thin film solar panels that run the length of the bus and charges an on-board deep cycle battery bank. On shutting the engine, the bus can still have its air-conditioner and wireless connectivity equipment up and running. This prevents fuel consumption of an idling engine. A low was passed in 2008 prohibiting diesel vehicles from idling for more than 5 minutes, which has now been applied across 25 states in the U.S.

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Car makers like Ferrari are all about performance and have never really been inclined towards making environment friendly cars. However, today’s ecological problems are so grave that no one can afford to ignore them. Ferrari has introduced its own hybrid car,’599 HY-KERS’. The HY-KERS uses Ferrari’s Kinetic Energy Recovery System which is its own version of the normal regenerative braking technology currently used in hybrid cars. The HY-KERS breaks the myth that hybrid cars cannot be great performers. Ferrari has very efficiently integrated its hybrid system with the V12 engine, which generates over 100bhp of power under hard acceleration.

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