Green Options

At the tail-end of last week’s Tokyo Motor Show Suzuki unveiled an exciting e-scooter concept, the Burgman, powered by a combination of hydrogen fuel cells and a li-ion battery.

Suzuki says that the innovative powertrain would enable the Burgman to reach distances of up to 220 miles at an average speed of 30kph (20mph) - so no wild freeway jaunts just yet then.

However, the company also reckon that performance will be comparable to a standard 125cc scooter (but I’d imagine that riding at higher speeds would most likely significantly reduce range).

Take a look at the first picture of what Honda hopes will become the future of motorbikes. The Honda EV-Cub is an all-electric version of the company’s top selling Super-Cub, and could be on sale as early as next year.

Details are scant about the new machine, but sources say that the retro looking EV-Cub will be two-wheel drive to offer riders more stability and traction.

This past weekend, over 7,000 hot rods, street rods, muscle cars and classics invaded Syracuse, New York for the annual Syracuse Nationals. This is NOT the eco-friendly event of the year; it is in fact, anything but. But I still love me some cool cars, and you don’t have to be a gearhead to appreciate classic sheet metal of this caliber.

But still, I was shocked to stumble across this 1972 Chevy Vega claimed propulsion by hydrogen. An alternative fuel car at a show full of dinosauce suckers? Where are the mobs and pitchforks?

Earlier this week, the world’s first piloted aircraft powered solely by hydrogen fuel cells, took to the skies above Hamburg Airport, Germany, producing zero carbon dioxide emissions.

The Antares DLR-H2, jointly developed by the German aerospace centre DLR, Lange Aviation, BASF Fuel Cells and Denmark’s Serenergy, has a range of 750km (390nm) and can stay airborne for 5 hours at top flying speeds of about 90kt (170km/h).

According to DLR, a main hurdle was improving fuel cell performance capabilities and efficiency to such an extent that the motor glider could take off using fuel cell power alone. DLR’s Johann-Dietrich told reporters, “This enables us to demonstrate the true potential of this technology.” (see more pictures after the jump).

A team of British designers have created a new racing car made entirely of vegetables and powered by … chocolate.

The car, named the ecoF3, has a steering wheel made of carrots, a body made of potatoes and a seat made of soybeans. The team, from World First Racing, hope that environmentally-friendly technology used in their car will be adopted by Formula 1 teams such as McLaren and world champions Ferrari.

A Swedish inventor has unveiled a solar-powered water purifier that could provide billions of the world’s poorest people with access to clean and disease-free drinking water [video].

The device, called the Solvatten, (Swedish for ’sun water’), looks much the same as a standard jerrycan and can be filled with up to ten liters of water, opened out, and left in the sun. A simple indicator shows either a red or green face to let users know when the water is safe to drink (typically after 3-4 hours), thus avoiding the risk of contracting water-borne diseases.

Music fan Owen Louis was so concerned about the amount of energy used up by his iPod, that he figured out a way of charging it up … with nothing more than an onion.

Louis, 21, from Portsmouth in the UK, makes two holes in an onion, before soaking it in an everyday energy drink and connecting it to his MP3 via a standard USB cable. Incredibly, the technique (video) enables him to charge his iPod for a full hour. According to Louis, “A friend showed me the experiment as a laugh but I thought it was the greatest thing I have ever seen, and do it religiously every day.”

A group of students from the University of Michigan have set a new world record for the longest flight ever by a fuel-cell powered plane.

Late last month the team, known as SolarBubbles, flew the $2,500 plane (video) around a field in Milan, Michigan for a total of 10 hours, 15 minutes and 4 seconds - smashing the previous 9 hour record held by a Californian engineering company.

A team of young Korean designers have invented a battery charger that runs on 100% renewable energy. The Febot might look a bit like a torpedo that’s gone wrong, but the in-built propellors mean that each one can generate enough energy to top up a rechargable AA battery.

Now here’s the fun bit. The Febot comes with a suction cup that allows you to attach it to pretty much any flat surface or structure. In theory, you could attach it to the outside of your window, or even the top of your car. Just imagine—a tiny little wind farm all of your own.

Earlier this month, pilots Carol Sugars and Douglas Rodante made history by becoming the first flight-crew to successfully fly across the US in a plane predominantly powered by biodiesel.

Of the total 2,486 miles flown from Reno, Nevada to Leesburg, Florida, 1,776 miles were 100% biodiesel-powered. The remaining 710 miles were powered by a 50/50 mix of biodiesel and standard jet fuel.

Earlier this week, a team of scientists at Loughborough University demonstrated the ENV, the world’s first ever hydrogen-powered motorbike (video).

Instead of a standard fuel tank, the ENV (short for Emissions Neutral Vehicle) contains an onboard fuel cell that can be filled with hydrogen in just three minutes. The cell then converts the hydrogen to electricity, enabling speeds of over 50 mph, and a range of 100 miles, with no emissions except warm air and water.