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  • Fossil fuels will surely be extinct in the future, we all are aware of that, but what will succeed these gas guzzlers? The question has puzzled many thinkers and while automobile industry giants might be working on making a decision based on profit margin us commoners have two options to choose from.

    First the electric cars, these battery powered vehicles can be charged up overnight and will be able to go for about 100 miles. Cars like the Nissan Leaf and G-Wiz are the commercially available for users but they are plagued by problems. First the range you can only use these cars for city travels and if you go a little further you are likely to run out of charge. The problem with the battery does not lie with range in miles but with the charging times. A Nissan leaf takes about 10 hours to charge fully. So you have to halt your journey for hours at a stretch. Filling up expensive fuel is definitely better than waiting for hours. Also since it’s just like a regular battery it will need a replacement and which is really expensive.

    Nissan LEAF ​

    Second, hydrogen fuel cell cars like the Honda FCX clarity. This vehicle is electric but that electricity is generated from liquid hydrogen. Now liquid hydrogen can be like petrol or diesel, housed at fuel stations so refilling is easy. But we arrive at the really tricky part, even thought hydrogen is abundant it likes to pair itself with something else and the extraction process is tough.

    Honda FCX Clarity ​

    I would also like to include solar cars in this fight but they have the biggest flaw. No sunlight, no power.

    So which of these cars electric, hydrogen fuel cell is our future? Or something else might have a solution. Express your thoughts in the comment section below.
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  • Sarathkumar Chandrasekaran

    Member • Sep 27, 2013

    Electric cars have been proved that they are capable of making it to practical roads and comercial usage but I dont think Hydrogen can replace as best alternative fuel.Solor being having the lowest efficiency cant be the near future.
    I will go for Biofuels because they have been the best in all aspects whether it wil be production cost or renewability or eco friendly.All these were satisfied.The only problem is lack if proper research and encouragement for biofuels especiallt biogas.
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  • Satya Swaroop Dash

    Member • Sep 27, 2013

    Thanks @#-Link-Snipped-#, for mentioning biofuels. Using biofuels will surely be helpful as you do not require to modify your car in any way. Just put the fuel in the same petrol or diesel tank and you are set. These oils can be manufactured from plants like oil seed rape and they cost same as diesel or petrol.
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  • Sarathkumar Chandrasekaran

    Member • Sep 27, 2013

    Not only from plants, also from waste from human, animals, biodegradable waste.
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  • Jeffrey Arulraj

    Member • Sep 29, 2013

    Hydrogen fuel cells are also in the upfront in terms of replacing fossil fuels

    With just water as a by product we are sure that no fuel can be more greener than this tech

    The main challenge we face is harnessing and storing substantial amount of hydrogen gas in a closed container without risking explosion. This challenge has also been removed recently with a variant of CNT which are capable of adsorbing nearly 10 times more hydrogen gas

    This is a great leap and we can see more cars testing this fuel source in the near future
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  • Sarathkumar Chandrasekaran

    Member • Sep 29, 2013

    Jeffrey Samuel
    Hydrogen fuel cells are also in the upfront in terms of replacing fossil fuels

    With just water as a by product we are sure that no fuel can be more greener than this tech

    The main challenge we face is harnessing and storing substantial amount of hydrogen gas in a closed container without risking explosion. This challenge has also been removed recently with a variant of CNT which are capable of adsorbing nearly 10 times more hydrogen gas

    This is a great leap and we can see more cars testing this fuel source in the near future
    But what about the cost of production criteria? We are still in the task of developing a cost efficient fuel and hydrogen fuel cell dont stand a chance in near future.I will insist on more research on biofuels.
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  • Jeffrey Arulraj

    Member • Sep 30, 2013

    SarathKumar Chandrasekaran
    But what about the cost of production criteria? We are still in the task of developing a cost efficient fuel and hydrogen fuel cell dont stand a chance in near future.I will insist on more research on biofuels.
    Actually bio fuels are really cool as they reduce need of fossil fuel

    But come to the other end of the spectrum The emission by the Bio fuels is also the same as that of the Fossil fuel and in some cases it is much worse

    That is not the case in Hydrogen cells. Mass prodction of any substance can bring the price down to the earth in no time. Once NT are made in larger scale in many areas we will have the containers at a much lower cost. Hydrogen also can be easily got from electrolysis Which makes this more suitable
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  • Kaustubh Katdare

    Administrator • Sep 30, 2013

    I sincerely believe all this electric cars buzz is going to die out soon. It doesn't comply with the laws of energy conversion. If X amount of diesel can propel the vehicle to Y kilometers, I'm 100% sure that the amount of electricity required to make the car move by Y kilometers solely on electric motors will require much more amount of other form of fuel. I'm sure it'd end up consuming more fuel. I seriously doubt how green are the electric cars.

    If the Geothermal energy is tapped, I think electric cars would definitely become one of the most popular modes of transport.

    My opinion is that the solar powered cars will definitely make ways into the future, looking at current rate of development. It's just a matter of time someone will crack the solar energy code to power all our vehicles, and hopefully planes and trains.
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  • Sarathkumar Chandrasekaran

    Member • Sep 30, 2013

    I agree that electric cars may have a bright future if they utilize the geothermal power but I dont agree to the fact that Solor power will be the next reliable source.A professor who is currently working on the renewable and hybrid resources said that solor powered cars are very less efficient and energy trapping and extraction efficiency is very low.As you say that every fuel has its own source and it may soon vanish due to over consumption, I strongly beleive that extraction of energy from waste would be thebest as world is full of dumped waste.
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  • Sarathkumar Chandrasekaran

    Member • Sep 30, 2013

    Could anyone post the real efficiency of solor powered cars?
    @#-Link-Snipped-#
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  • Ramani Aswath

    Member • Sep 30, 2013

    As Kaustubh says at #8 above it is mostly thermodynamics. The issue is not the efficiency of solar cars. It has to do with the conversion efficiency of solar power to electric. This is further modified by the motion of the car, which can reduce the energy incident on the collector because of unpredictable movement.

    In a few years the cost of alternative electricity will become comparative and even cheaper than conventional. However, this is true only for controlled centralised static generation. Once abundant electric power is available it is a no brainer to go after a mileage efficient vehicle by weight reduction, regenerative braking and such.

    There is the larger issue of the justification for personal vehicles in the context of environment protection.

    As Prof. Victor Panek wrote in his Design for the Real World it is atrocious to use a one ton car to move a 70 kg human.

    An efficient mass transport system based on alternate prime mover technology should be the option to go for.
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  • Saandeep Sreerambatla

    Member • Oct 1, 2013

    Electric cars solely powered for rechargeable battery will die out soon.
    Because of the above mentioned problems.

    The innovation in the following areas will makes things better:
    1. Making a fast charging batter ( ofcourse considering what biggie has told about the amout of fuel spent)
    2. Finding other ways of generating power.

    Recently we read somewhere about tapping the power from microwave, on the same lines we have equipment installed in trains etc ( on high range) to save the power while braking.
    Same implementation should be done, and to generate solar power and effectively convert it to charge the battery while the car is moving which is equipped with regenerative braking will be a killer!
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  • Ramani Aswath

    Member • Oct 3, 2013

    An update:
    #-Link-Snipped-#
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  • Sarathkumar Chandrasekaran

    Member • Oct 5, 2013

    Saandeep Sreerambatla
    The innovation in the following areas will makes things better:
    1. Making a fast charging batter ( ofcourse considering what biggie has told about the amout of fuel spent)
    2. Finding other ways of generating power.
    What about the amount of energy spent on charging the battery.We may be able to recharge the battery in a matter of time but the source seems to be insufficient at the present scenario?
    I agree that losses should be minimized so that it can be reused .alternative source of power seems to be a better idea but kindly suggest the better and possible power source which can be tapped and used.
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