• Question: What is the point in electric engines, as they still use fossil fuels?

    Asked by collinsc09 to Helen, Mark, Stu on 23 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Helen O'Connor

      Helen O'Connor answered on 23 Jun 2011:

      Although this isnt a sports science question, I did used to work for a research company that specialised in renewable energy.

      There is an alternative to fossil fuel, for electric engines, this is the hydrogen fuel cell (or hydrogen battery). Basically an electrochemical reaction occurs between hydrogen and oxygen that converts chemical energy into electrical energy.

      Liquid fuels are good because the energy is stored within the liquid itself, ready to be used whenever you want it, AND you can fill up your car with a liquid fuel within a couple of minutes. To use chemical reactions between hydrogen and oxygen you need some method of storing this energy until you need it (batteries) and batteries can take a couple of hours or more to charge up – so they haven’t been as popular.

      So, we have spent far longer doing research and development into other types of alternative fuel (bio, fossil) and that is why we hear so much about them. Luckily, since the mid 1990’s a lot more research and development has been taking place on hydrogen-cell batteries, and there is a good chance we will see more electric cars powered this way in the future.

    • Photo: Mark Burnley

      Mark Burnley answered on 23 Jun 2011:

      In addition to Helen’s answer, the difference between these electric motoe and the petrol/diesel variety is that it takes fossil fuel to extract and process the fuels that are then burnt again, so fossil fuels are used twice, whereas the electric motors could in principle run on any form of generated electricity – you could plug them into supplies from renewables or from a nuclear reactor. Then they would not use any fossil fuels at any point.

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