Santa eyeing alternative fuel for sleigh

FOR MOST of his fabled career, Santa Claus has had to rely on his reindeer for transport to deliver his annual gifts to children around the world.

Now, modern technology is giving the big guy in the red suit other options. What if Old Saint Nick were to replace his reindeer with electric, solar or nuclear power?

An elf wishing to remain anonymous reveals access to specs on various alternatives Santa is considering to cover his 7.4-millionkilometre route to all the boys and girls on his ‘nice’ list.

REINDEER

Fuel source: Vegetation Cost: 0.004 cents per km Verdict: Santa was initially interested in converting reindeer-generated methane into fuel to heat the toy factory, but the standard industry method is still fairly inefficient and currently not cost-effective.

ELECTRIC

Fuel source: Liquid-cooled lithium-ion batteries comparable to those powering some American-brand cars already on the road.

Cost: 2.49 cents per km, estimating the expense of charging the batteries at US$0.125 (RM0.53) per kilowatt-hour.

Verdict: Santa’s working group on the issue calculated efficiency at 0.199kWh per km, roughly equivalent to getting 44.64km per litre of petrol.

The paucity of charging stations, however, renders this plan unviable – at least for now.

SOLAR

Fuel source: Panels retrofitted to sleigh Cost: A baseline model would cost about US$100,000 (RM430,000) based on a concept car in development at the University of Michigan, but the final price tag could top half a mil (RM2.15 million), depending upon how much Santa wants to trick out his ride.

Verdict: Not viable. Santa flies at night.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION

Fuel source: Petrol Cost: 4.66 cents per km Verdict: Estimated requirements are 348,258 litres at US$1 (RM4.29) per litre, getting 21.25km per litre for a fully laden, er, magical sleigh.

Volatility of world crude-oil supply is a consideration.

NUCLEAR

Fuel source: Fission Cost: Lifetime fuel cost for a uranium- powered sleigh would be negligible – less than 3.79 litres of petrol – but the reactor’s upfront cost would be in the millions.

Verdict: Smaller reactors using thorium to produce uranium-233 are in development, but the technology isn’t quite there.

Plus, the weight of necessary shielding for a sleigh-size unit makes this option impractical.

For now, Rudolph’s nose will be the only thing glowing.

HOT AIR BALLOON

Fuel source: Propane to heat balloon air, wind for propulsion

Cost: About US$50,000 (RM215,000) for a spiffy gondola balloon – possibly less if nonunionised elf labour is used – plus propane cost of about US$2,000 (RM8,600) based on a per-litre cost of about US$1 (RM4.29).

Verdict: Variable wind speed and weather patterns would reduce on-time deliveries. – Agencies