The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Beyond electric: What wiil future fuels look like?
As the 2030 petrol and diesel car ban approaches, more cities across the country are creating Low Emission Zones (LEZS), which will ban cars that produce certain emission levels from entering restricted city centre areas – including hybrid vehicles.
Glasgow and Edinburgh’s will come into effect next year while Aberdeen’s is set to come into operation in 2024 – all with the aim of meeting the UK’S net zero emissions target by 2050, and 2045 in Scotland.
While motorbikes will be permitted, internal combustion engine (ICE) car drivers will need to make some changes and adapt their habits.
Drivers are now faced with a raft of personal and lifestyle choices on second hand petrol car sales, hybrids, electric vehicles (EVS), leasing, car sharing, plug-in costs, range anxiety, congestion charges, public transport, how to handle the school run...
The list goes on and mostly involves the move away from ICE and towards EV only. But while EVS may well be the future, they are also evolving alongside other fuel options.
So are there viable alternatives to electric power? Well, experts certainly think so.
BIOFUELS
These radical types of fuel are made from sugarcane and corn, and do considerably less damage to the environment than standard petrol.
Second generation biofuels are viewed as the most popular altrnative to electric, as they can be generated without any food wastage.
HEAT
Thermoelectric technology, which takes heat and converts it into electricity, is another option. While this is a clever form of technology, it relies on a natural heat source being present in the first place.
HYDROGEN
While the technology for this type of fuel is currently very expensive, hydrogen is seen as the biggest challenger to electricity.
It requires no battery, being powered in a more traditional combustion engine. The crowning glory is that, like electricity, there are no CO2 emissions used.
Currently, fleet vehicles such as lorries and buses are more likely to use hydrogen – but this could change in coming years as the hydrogen refuelling infrastructure expands, making it more accessible to the domestic market.
And it has support. Fifth Gear presenter and Your
Car columnist Vicki Butlerhenderson recently wrote on its possibilities and applications (October 2021 and November 2021).
Currently more expensive than fuel, this too could change with wider use. And with the north-east having suffered severe electric power outages last year, would it make sense to commit more resources to the development of hydrogen fuel cells?
Bentley believes so, last year crossing Iceland in a Flying Spur on hydrogen fuel. The Toyota Mirai utilises hydrogen fuel, as does the Hyundai Nexo, covering comparable distances to petrol engines.
And the big budget big hitters are putting thought and time into hydrogen including Aston Martin, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-benz.
Steven Lua, CEO of zero emissions solutions provider Unitrove, recently welcomed government plans to double hydrogen production targets.
He said: “The development of the hydrogen industry is absolutely key to the UK’S long-term energy strategy, both in terms of cleaning up the energy industry and for delivering energy security that is affordable and accessible to all of society. We need collaboration across the entire energy industry as there is no one-size-fits-all solution. We need to embrace multiple renewable and clean energy solutions to achieve our net-zero ambitions.”
“What we need to see now is real investment in infrastructure to help the UK realise its ambitions to become a major player in the hydrogen field so that it can contribute to affordable, reliable, sustainable energy in the future.”
Ryze Hydrogen distributes affordable low and zero emission hydrogen to customers across the UK for use in transport, industry and homes. Founder Jo Bamford agrees, and sees the UK’S hydrogen as vital to long-term energy security and job.
He said: “It is great to see the government raising its ambitions for hydrogen, and recognising the need to move fast if we are to secure the maximum number of jobs and economic growth in this emerging global industry.”
However, hydrogen fuel cell technology is expensive to develop. And outside of motorsport, the industry is adapting to self-powered vehicles that move customers away from traditional fuel stations to charging at home, work or the street – meaning garage forecourts may become a thing of the past. In the meantime, though, there are still some options available to ICE drivers.
You can convert your ICE car to an EV – although at a whopping £20,000£60,000 depending on the size of your car, it probably makes more sense to invest in a new EV.
Hybrids will still be in showrooms until 2035, as long as they can prove they can cover a significant distance in zero-emission mode, but will face bans thereafter. It won’t be illegal to own or drive an ICE car beyond 2030, so no need to scrap your beloved jalopy just yet.
And what is to become of the nation’s stunning classic cars? Well, these vehicles can run on hydrogen fuel – and who wants to lose the spectacle of vintage cars on our roads, taking a graceful, leisurely pace behind the superspeed EVS?
So rather than rush to place all our eggs in the electric basket and become consumer hostages to a single fuel - as we once did with petrol power - perhaps a broader choice of options would better match the needs of all the different commuters, drivers and motoring lovers out there?
WE NEED COLLABORATION ACROSS THE INDUSTRY AS THERE IS NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL SOLUTION