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New Fuels and Technologies

Technology is continually changing the way we live. Today, there are many environmentally friendly choices for drivers - including alternative fuels, new vehicle technologies, innovative road designs, traffic management strategies and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).

What is an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS)?

An ITS uses technology to reduce congestion, improve traffic flow and improve the environment. In turn, this helps reduce emissions. These systems can take on many different forms. For example, the synchronization of traffic lights, sensors in the road and message boards.

Split Cycle Offset Optimization Technique (SCOOT) is a form of ITS that has been used in Toronto. Pollution emissions were reduced up to 6 per cent and fuel consumption was reduced up to 7 per cent because the streets weren't clogged with idling cars.

New fuels and power sources

There is now more choice than ever before when it comes to powering vehicles. Here's a quick overview of the new fuel and power sources that are used in today's vehicles.

Ethanol

Gasoline blends are liquid fuels that can be produced from corn, agricultural and forestry wastes or natural gas. Ethanol reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions because the grains and crops used to make the ethanol absorb carbon dioxide from the air, as they grow.

Biodiesel

Biodiesel is made from the oils and fats of plants. Since it is a bio-mass-based fuel, it contributes no net carbon dioxide and sulfur into the atmosphere. It is a renewable fuel that can be used in diesel vehicles with no engine modifications. However, biodiesel is not yet widely available in North America. Research is currently underway to find ways to reduce the cost of production.

Natural gas

The same fuel many of us use to heat our homes can be used in vehicles. The average price of natural gas can be up to 40 per cent cheaper than gasoline, plus it produces fewer emissions. To use natural gas as a transportation fuel, you can either convert existing gasoline vehicles or purchase factory-produced natural gas vehicles.

Propane

This is most common alternative fuel in Canada. Similar to natural gas, propane is used as a transportation fuel either by converting existing gasoline vehicles or by purchasing a factory-produced propane vehicle. Almost all of the 150,000 propane-capable vehicles in Canada are converted vehicles - and many are bio-fuel.

Battery power

Battery-electric vehicles are powered by motors that draw electricity from on-board storage batteries. Electric vehicles don't produce pollution from the tailpipe or through fuel evaporation, which means they have great potential to reduce GHG emissions and smog-forming pollutants. The batteries must be recharged often, which takes up to eight hours each time, compared with the few minutes needed to fill up with gasoline. Most batteries must be replaced after 400 to 500 charges - an expensive proposition that offsets the advantages of using low-cost electricity as an energy source. Currently, electric vehicles are not widely available in Canada.

Hybrid Electricity

Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) combine a battery-powered electric motor with a conventional internal combustion engine. The energy that drives these cars is split between gasoline and electricity. While HEVs do produce GHG emissions, the emissions are fewer than those from conventional gasoline vehicles.

HEVs do not need to charge using external sources because they use regenerative braking, the energy produced from coasting, and the gasoline engine to recharge their batteries.

Electricity can be manufactured by an object that spins a magnet, called a generator. Operating the generator requires a large force, if the generator is large. This process has damaging ecological effects, produces air pollution from burning fossil fuels and nuclear wastes from nuclear reactors. Thus, there is still pollution, even if it is hidden from the direct view.

HEV batteries have a lifespan of about 8 to 10 years, and battery disposal is another environmental concern.

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the cleanest fuel in the world. Fuel cells generate electricity by electrochemically combining hydrogen and oxygen. On a life-cycle basis, they can produce zero or very low GHG emissions, depending on the source of the hydrogen.

In principle, fuel cells are similar to batteries. The main difference is that batteries store electrical energy, while fuel cells generate electricity continuously as long as an external fuel source is supplied.

A few tests of fuel cell vehicles are being carried out, but the technology is not yet commercially available. A major obstacle to the use of hydrogen as a fuel is the lack of hydrogen infrastructure.

New technologies

Since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the federal government, the Canadian auto industry continues to introduce many new models that incorporate technologies that can reduce greenhouse gases. Technologies available in the Canadian market for the 2007 and 2008 model years include: