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Lotus Tri-Fuel Concept Makes An Appearance At Geneva Show

March 20, 2008

lotus_exige_270eSports car manufacturer Lotus showed its latest tri-fuel concept at the Geneva auto show. The Lotus Exige Tri-Fuel 270E can run on gasoline, ethanol or methanol. The company has been researching the production of carbon-neutral synthetic methanol. The system extracts CO2 from the atmosphere and combines it with hydrogen to power the vehicle.

The use of synthetic alcohol fuels would allow the continued use of internal combustion engines. Liquid methanol could be stored, transported and sold similarly to gasoline or diesel fuel, and would require only minor design modifications to fuel lines, the fuel injection system, the fuel tank, control software and additional sensors for existing vehicles. It would also work well in turbocharging and supercharging vehicle designs. The concept vehicle also generates hydrogen through the electrolysis of water.

Another advantage of this approach is that the extraction of CO2 from the atmosphere is already understood. The idea would face the production challenges of creating large quantities of methanol. Initially, the company suggests, the synthetic fuel could be created by locating a nuclear or hydroelectric plant near a conventional one and combining CO2 from the atmosphere or from the biomass with hydrogen from the power plant. Ultimately, production would shift from biomass sources to atmospheric sources for the CO2

According to the company, the technology could be ready for production use in the next four to five years. Lotus is conducting its synthetic alcohol-based fuel research at its facility in Norfolk, UK and is also pursuing electric and hybrid-electric technologies, such as its recently announced low-CO2 emission three-cylinder engine.

Written by Hybrid Car Chat · Filed Under Hybrid Cars 

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