Eco-friendly cars

Electric

Electromobile - a car driven by one or more electric motors , and not an internal combustion engine . Electric car should be distinguished from cars with internal combustion engines and electric transmission and trolley buses . The electric car (cargo vehicle for driving in closed areas) and the electric bus (bus with battery) are considered as subspecies of an electric vehicle

A car on the water is a hypothetical car that receives energy for movement from water alone. Water cars have become the subject of many international patents, articles in newspapers and popular science magazines, local television news and online publications.

Hybrid car

A hybrid car is a highly economical car driven by an “ electric motor - internal combustion engine ” system (hereinafter referred to as the engine ), powered both by fuel and by an electric battery . The main advantage of a hybrid car is to reduce fuel consumption and harmful emissions . This is achieved by fully automatic control of the engine system operation mode using an on-board computer , starting from the timely shutdown of the engine during a stop in the transport stream, with the possibility of continuing movement without starting it, solely on battery power, and ending with a more complex recovery mechanism - using the electric motor as electric current generator to replenish the battery charge.

Solar-powered electric vehicle

An experimental version of an electric vehicle that uses the energy of sunlight collected and converted into electricity by a photocell battery .

Natural Gas Car

Gas equipment of the car - the fuel system of an internal combustion engine , modified for use as a fuel compressed natural gas or liquefied hydrocarbon gases .

Flexible fuel car

A car with a flexible choice of fuel - can drive both on gasoline and on a mixture of gasoline with ethanol, and in flexible proportions (from 5% to 95%). The car has one fuel tank, adaptability to different composition of the fuel is achieved through the original engine design or due to the structural modification of a conventional gasoline internal combustion engine.

Fuel Cell Vehicles

Hydrogen transport - various vehicles that use hydrogen as a fuel. It can be vehicles, both with internal combustion engines, and with hydrogen fuel cells .

Air car

Air car - a car that uses compressed air to move. Pneumatic cars use a modified version of a conventional four-stroke engine. Pneumatic engines also make it possible to use the advantages of electric motors - the regenerative braking system: in pneumatic hybrids during braking by using the engine as an air compressor, the air is compressed and the tank is filled with it.

Regenerative braking

Recuperative braking is the organization of braking, in which the kinetic energy of a vehicle is not dissipated as heat, as usual, but is used again for movement. Regenerative braking is widely used in electric locomotives and electric trains , where during braking, electric motors begin to work as electric generators , and the generated electric power is transmitted through a contact network either to other electric locomotives or to a common power grid through traction substations .

Flywheel

A flywheel is a heavy rotating disk used as a storage device (inertial accumulator) of kinetic energy . When using the flywheel mechanical energy does not require conversion to other forms of energy, it is possible to avoid losses associated with such transformations. On the other hand, the flywheel quickly loses energy due to the fact that its rotation is hampered by the friction force. See also gyrobus .

To combat pollution in Europe, more and more stringent environmental emission standards for automobiles are being developed and introduced. According to the plans of the EU Commissioner for Environment Stavros Dimas , the average carbon dioxide emissions by 2012 should be reduced from the current 163 to 120 grams per kilometer. ^[one]

Many large automakers, from Peugeot and Audi to Ferrari (Ferrari 599 Hybrid model) and Rolls-Royce (102EX Phantom Experimental Electric), are working on creating eco-friendly cars. It is significant that even companies from China, where so far few people are concerned about environmental protection, are beginning to invest huge amounts of money in the creation and development of the lines of "green" cars. And this is fully justified, because today the key to the main world markets, along with the quality, safety and affordable prices, is becoming an “environmentally friendly” car. ^[2]

Automakers compete with each other both in an effort to maximize the savings of non-renewable energy resources, and in minimizing the negative impact on the environment. And if before no one moved further than concepts, now companies are moving from applications and experimental samples to mass implementation of their developments.

The “alternative” car sector is growing slowly, but at a steady pace. The demand for environmental cars formed even before the current crisis and has not faded, despite the long decline in oil prices. Today, in the light of the fight against global warming and taking into account the implementation of plans to reduce dependence on traditional non-renewable energy sources, the governments of many countries use monetary and non-monetary tools to motivate their citizens to buy green cars. However, while such cars are too expensive and inconvenient for everyday use, since the necessary infrastructure has not yet been created (stations for refueling with biofuels and for fast charging of electric vehicle batteries, service centers, etc.). Therefore, people more often buy cars with petrol or diesel engines ^[3] .

In general, with regard to the promotion of sales of "green" cars, here we can distinguish three basic directions. ^[four]

Producers 'and sellers' initiatives

Such initiatives include the implementation of leasing programs (leasing either the entire car, or the most expensive items — for example, batteries or “home” stationary refueling / charging complexes) support

State initiatives (government, local authorities)

The state creates a kind of “compensation package”, which, in turn, can be divided into two parts - monetary and non-monetary incentives. Monetary incentives include: tax credit, grants (government bonus payments to buyers of hybrids or cars that use alternative fuels), tax exemption when registering a new car, as well as road tolls. Non-monetary incentives include: free parking, free travel on toll roads, free use of special areas (road lanes for buses or special vehicles) .

Company Initiatives

The initiatives of the companies consist in financial support of employees who want to buy a “green” car, as well as in reorganizing the corporate fleet by replacing conventional cars with their “ecological” counterparts . For example, Google provides a corporate loan of $ 5,000 to all employees who wish to purchase a hybrid car, including the very popular Prius in the US. And in February of this year, CERN and the Swiss group Gazmobil announced the conclusion of a contract for the purchase of 100 cars on natural gas for employees of the European Organization for Nuclear Research and the installation of a filling station for this type of fuel in Meiren.

The list of the most environmentally friendly and economical car models is published annually by the German Transport Club Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD) . In 2009, most of the places in the rating were occupied by small cars - 45, among which Toyota Aygo leads.

In the second and third places - Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107 . In the compact class, she won the Skoda Fabia 1.2, then the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Mercedes-Benz A 160. ^[5]

Existing "alternative" technologies are imperfect. "Green" cars do not always justify their name, in some cases, becoming even more "polluter" of the environment than standard gasoline counterparts. After all, for the production of the car itself (all components and assemblies) and the "alternative" energy, due to which it works, as a rule, use traditional technological / production chains and non-renewable energy resources. ^{[4] [6]}

• Sustainable transportation
• Cycle mobile

• The US Environmental Protection Agency
• Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicle Data Center (US Department of Energy)
• Yahoo! Autos green center
• EU Transport Research-Green cars initiative
• Green car journal
• Make Cars Green (International environmental campaign)
• Mercedes-Benz BIOME - ultra light car as part of nature (inaccessible link)