The Future of Alternative Energy in Transportation

Many researchers and enthusiasts in this field have been trying to conceive and postulate an ultimate solution to  independence from petroleum based gasoline. There has been a sort of obsession to come up with a single replacement for the petroleum gasoline fuel model.

This obsession undoubtedly stems from the monopolistic petroleum gasoline/internal combustion engine model that has successfully driven transportation for all these many decades. It has served its purpose well, but it is no longer needed or wanted.

This transportation model was very useful because it created standards and achieved economies of scale. The mistake is to assume there will be a single solution to replace this aging and outdated single solution.

It's probably safe to assume that there will not be a single replacement transportation energy solution in our lifetime. While many single replacement solutions have theoretical and very realistic promise, the political and commercial interests on our planet at this time are too unaligned and in serious conflict making a quick single solution all but impossible.

Because there must be an evolution out of the dependence on petroleum, there will likely become something like three strong alternative energy solutions that will develop out of our current drive to solve this problem. In the next 25 years these three dominating alternative energy sources will reduce our need for petroleum by about 30-40%.

What will these three evolutionary alternative energy sources be? Right now, the front runners are 1) Bio-fuels, flex-fuels, primarily derived from renewable plant resources, 2) abundant natural gas resources, 3) electricity, much of which could be generated from unlimited solar energy and/or hydrogen.

The use of the internal combustion engine will continue for some time. We will replace the need for petroleum based gasoline, used in these engines, with natural gas and bio-fuels/flex-fuels.

The third member of the triangle is electricity for electric cars. More and more all-electric vehicles will be commercially available in the coming years. The evolution of current hybrid cars into all electric cars will be greatly assisted by the growing trend in plug-in hybrids. These newer hybrids will allow most people to plug in and charge their hybrids at home, at work and at commercial recharging stations. New battery technologies will come into play as well. This will help drive the development of the vitally needed recharging infrastructure needed for all-electric vehicles.

Eventually there will be no need for hybrids as all-electric vehicles will become a major and possibly the dominant vehicle type.

Parallel to this evolution will be advances made with the uses of hydrogen for use in internal combustion engines and for electric vehicles.

Of course how fast technology can make these solutions become a common reality will be the key to it all. More clever technologies created by smart and effective people will make these alternative fuels become economical and practical.

And before that can happen we first have to have the goal and purpose as individuals to make it happen. This is happening with more and more people every day.

Within 40 years, petroleum gasoline will no longer be used for common personal and commercial transportation in developed countries. However, we hope this can be done a lot sooner.

~ The Editor, NewWaveCars.om