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Alternative fuel vehicle
An alternative fuel vehicle is a motor vehicle that runs on alternative fuel rather than traditional petroleum-based fossil fuels such as gasoline, petrodiesel or liquefied petroleum gas (autogas). The term typically refers to internal combustion engine vehicles or fuel cell vehicles that utilize synthetic renewable fuels such as biofuels (ethanol fuel, biodiesel and biogasoline), hydrogen fuel or so-called "Electrofuel". The term can also be used to describe an electric vehicle (particularly a battery electric vehicle or a solar vehicle), which should be more appropriately called an "alternative energy vehicle" or "new energy vehicle" as its propulsion actually rely on electricity rather than motor fuel.
Vehicle engines powered by gasoline/petrol first emerged in the 1860s and 1870s; they took until the 1930s to completely dominate the original "alternative" engines driven by steam (18th century), by gases (early 19th century), or by electricity (c. 1830s). Because of a combination of factors, such as environmental and health concerns including climate change and air pollution, high oil-prices and the potential for peak oil, development of cleaner alternative fuels and advanced power systems for vehicles has become a high priority for many governments and vehicle manufacturers around the world in recent years.
Hybrid electric vehicles such as the Toyota Prius are not actually alternative fuel vehicles, as they still use traditional fuels such as gasoline, but through advancement in electric battery/supercapacitor and motor–generator technologies, they have an overall better fuel efficiency than conventional combustion vehicles. Other research and development efforts in alternative forms of power focus on developing plug-in electric, range extender and fuel cell vehicles, and even compressed-air vehicles.
An environmental analysis of the impacts of various vehicle-fuels extends beyond just operating efficiency and emissions, especially if a technology comes into wide use. A life-cycle assessment of a vehicle involves production and post-use considerations. In general, the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of battery-electric vehicles are lower than emissions from hydrogen, PHEV, hybrid, compressed natural gas, gasoline, and diesel vehicles.
As of 2019[update], there were more than 1.49 billion motor vehicles on the world's roads, compared with approximately 159 million alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles that had been sold or converted worldwide at the end of 2022 and consisting of:
A flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) or dual-fuel vehicle (DFF) is an alternative fuel automobile or light duty truck with a multifuel engine that can use more than one fuel, usually mixed in the same tank, and the blend is burned in the combustion chamber together. These vehicles are colloquially called flex-fuel, or flexifuel in Europe, or just flex in Brazil. FFVs are distinguished from bi-fuel vehicles, where two fuels are stored in separate tanks. The most common commercially available FFV in the world market is the ethanol flexible-fuel vehicle, with the major markets concentrated in the United States, Brazil, Sweden, and some other European countries.
Ethanol flexible-fuel vehicles have standard gasoline engines that are capable of running with ethanol and gasoline mixed in the same tank. These mixtures have "E" numbers which describe the percentage of ethanol in the mixture, for example, E85 is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. (See common ethanol fuel mixtures for more information.) Though technology exists to allow ethanol FFVs to run on any mixture up to E100, in the U.S. and Europe, flex-fuel vehicles are optimized to run on E85. This limit is set to avoid cold starting problems during very cold weather.
Over 65 million flex fuel automobiles, motorcycles and light duty trucks by the end of 2021, led by Brazil with 38.3 million and the United States with 27 million. Other markets were Canada (1.6 million by 2014), and Sweden (243,100 through December 2014). The Brazilian flex fuel fleet includes over 4 million flexible-fuel motorcycles produced since 2009 through March 2015. In Brazil, 65% of flex-fuel car owners were using ethanol fuel regularly in 2009, while, the actual number of American FFVs being run on E85 is much lower; surveys conducted in the U.S. have found that 68% of American flex-fuel car owners were not aware they owned an E85 flex.
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Alternative fuel vehicle AI simulator
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Alternative fuel vehicle
An alternative fuel vehicle is a motor vehicle that runs on alternative fuel rather than traditional petroleum-based fossil fuels such as gasoline, petrodiesel or liquefied petroleum gas (autogas). The term typically refers to internal combustion engine vehicles or fuel cell vehicles that utilize synthetic renewable fuels such as biofuels (ethanol fuel, biodiesel and biogasoline), hydrogen fuel or so-called "Electrofuel". The term can also be used to describe an electric vehicle (particularly a battery electric vehicle or a solar vehicle), which should be more appropriately called an "alternative energy vehicle" or "new energy vehicle" as its propulsion actually rely on electricity rather than motor fuel.
Vehicle engines powered by gasoline/petrol first emerged in the 1860s and 1870s; they took until the 1930s to completely dominate the original "alternative" engines driven by steam (18th century), by gases (early 19th century), or by electricity (c. 1830s). Because of a combination of factors, such as environmental and health concerns including climate change and air pollution, high oil-prices and the potential for peak oil, development of cleaner alternative fuels and advanced power systems for vehicles has become a high priority for many governments and vehicle manufacturers around the world in recent years.
Hybrid electric vehicles such as the Toyota Prius are not actually alternative fuel vehicles, as they still use traditional fuels such as gasoline, but through advancement in electric battery/supercapacitor and motor–generator technologies, they have an overall better fuel efficiency than conventional combustion vehicles. Other research and development efforts in alternative forms of power focus on developing plug-in electric, range extender and fuel cell vehicles, and even compressed-air vehicles.
An environmental analysis of the impacts of various vehicle-fuels extends beyond just operating efficiency and emissions, especially if a technology comes into wide use. A life-cycle assessment of a vehicle involves production and post-use considerations. In general, the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of battery-electric vehicles are lower than emissions from hydrogen, PHEV, hybrid, compressed natural gas, gasoline, and diesel vehicles.
As of 2019[update], there were more than 1.49 billion motor vehicles on the world's roads, compared with approximately 159 million alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles that had been sold or converted worldwide at the end of 2022 and consisting of:
A flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) or dual-fuel vehicle (DFF) is an alternative fuel automobile or light duty truck with a multifuel engine that can use more than one fuel, usually mixed in the same tank, and the blend is burned in the combustion chamber together. These vehicles are colloquially called flex-fuel, or flexifuel in Europe, or just flex in Brazil. FFVs are distinguished from bi-fuel vehicles, where two fuels are stored in separate tanks. The most common commercially available FFV in the world market is the ethanol flexible-fuel vehicle, with the major markets concentrated in the United States, Brazil, Sweden, and some other European countries.
Ethanol flexible-fuel vehicles have standard gasoline engines that are capable of running with ethanol and gasoline mixed in the same tank. These mixtures have "E" numbers which describe the percentage of ethanol in the mixture, for example, E85 is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. (See common ethanol fuel mixtures for more information.) Though technology exists to allow ethanol FFVs to run on any mixture up to E100, in the U.S. and Europe, flex-fuel vehicles are optimized to run on E85. This limit is set to avoid cold starting problems during very cold weather.
Over 65 million flex fuel automobiles, motorcycles and light duty trucks by the end of 2021, led by Brazil with 38.3 million and the United States with 27 million. Other markets were Canada (1.6 million by 2014), and Sweden (243,100 through December 2014). The Brazilian flex fuel fleet includes over 4 million flexible-fuel motorcycles produced since 2009 through March 2015. In Brazil, 65% of flex-fuel car owners were using ethanol fuel regularly in 2009, while, the actual number of American FFVs being run on E85 is much lower; surveys conducted in the U.S. have found that 68% of American flex-fuel car owners were not aware they owned an E85 flex.
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