Alt Fuels

Is Brazilian sugarcane the perfect biofuel for American drivers? Brazil believes ethanol made from sugarcane can supplement corn-based ethanol produced in the United States, which would help meet U.S. government targets for increased biofuel consumption. Under the Energy Independence and Security...

A new poll claims 82 percent of Americans want to put E15, a blend of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline, in their cars.

Where should you put public charging stations for electric cars? Local businesses and governments and urban planners all over the country are grappling with that question right now. But one Canadian city has passed a law that requires new or renovated gas stations to install electric-car charging...

A bill passed by the California Legislature last week will provide funding for 100 hydrogen fueling stations in the state.

Volkswagen wants to promote natural gas as an alternative to electrification, and hopes the EPA will help it.

The idea is simple: Replace refined hydrocarbons yanked deep out of the earth with vehicle fuel derived from crops. The ongoing politics of ethanol remain anything but simple. The latest salvo sally in the ethanol wars was fired by two U.S. senators from agricultural states, Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a man of many and advanced interests, and his latest notion--the Hyperloop rapid transit system revealed as a concept yesterday--fits into his vision of a very different future. In a nutshell, the Hyperloop is a system in which people board pods inside an elevated metal tube...

While electric cars get a lot of press, electricity is hardly the only way to power vehicles without using gasoline. Discussion of natural gas as a vehicle fuel is rising again, in part due to huge supplies coming online in North America. Now Mercedes-Benz has launched its latest vehicle powered by...

Hyundai has announced plans to transform an existing hydrogen refueling station in California into a cutting edge renewable fueling station. The station will be built on the site of an existing hydrogen station at Hyundai America Technical Center Inc. in Chino, California. The original station was...

Some of our electric car-owning readers already reap the benefits of solar energy with roof-mounted panels, but on a grid level solar still has a long way to go. The U.S. Department of Energy wants to change that, revealing targets that would mean one third of the Western U.S. energy demands could...

A new bill in the U.S. Senate would amend Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules to encourage production of a new class of natural-gas vehicles with "reserve" gasoline tanks. As demonstrated in a drive of prototype vehicles earlier this year, the range-extended natural gas cars would run for perhaps...

Ford is the latest automaker to offer a natural gas fuel option for its best-selling pickup truck range. The 2014 Ford F-150 will be offered with a natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) preparation option aiding installation of a suitable fuel system at qualified third-party...

With Teslas and BMW i3s dominating the green car headlines, it's easy to forget that plenty of other automakers are creating their own low-emission vehicles. In Russia, that company is Yo-Avto. The automaker has promised a natural gas hybrid vehicle for some time--and that time could now be 2015...

Whatever you think of hydrogen-powered vehicles, recent technology-sharing deals have shown the automakers themselves are beginning to push towards fuel cell vehicles. Among other issues, it's hydrogen's production causing a few issues for the burgeoning industry--it's neither very efficient, nor...

Rust is usually something to be avoided in the automotive world, unless you're a hot-rodder looking for that sun-scorched appearance or a VW scene kid wanting the "rat look". But while most associate rust with decay, scientists are finding another use for it--and one which could improve hydrogen...

On Tuesday, six prototype cars powered by natural gas for their first 60 or so miles and by gasoline thereafter were unveiled in Washington, D.C. Now, the natural-gas industry is taking them on the road to "drive a conversation about the benefits of natural gas as a transportation fuel for...

To date, natural-gas vehicles have come with significant compromises. The high-pressure tanks that hold enough compressed natural gas to run 200 miles or more take up many cubic feet of space in the trunk, load bay, or pickup bed. But what if you could design a vehicle that had just enough natural...

On June 3, Hyundai delivered the first ix35 Fuel Cell vehicle in Europe, to the City of Copenhagen in Denmark. Production of the company's hydrogen-fueled vehicle began in February. That means that its first production hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle is now on the roads, albeit at low planned volumes...

A report analyzing the uptake of low-carbon fuels says that fossil-fuel alternatives are actually growing faster than expected. The report, produced by a coalition of investors, utilities, and makers of alternative fuels and vehicles, suggests alternative fuels are proving more popular than...

It's perfectly reasonable to be skeptical when an alternative energy organization says we should move away from fossil fuels, and likewise reasonable to be skeptical when the fossil fuel industry says we have nothing to worry about. But when the world's largest coal producer turns to solar power...