Seen on L.A. Streets: Plug-In Hybrid Algae Car!
Last night, as I was walking to a music venue on Main St. in Venice, I happened across this stunning futuristic piece of machinery. It is a converted plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius that runs on electricity and algae fuel.
It happens to be driven by Josh and Rebecca Tikell, who also directed the award-winning documentary, Fuel. The couple drove the algae plug-in hybrid across the country last year to promote Fuel. They are also working on a new documentary at the moment called, “Spill,” which brings attention to this summer’s Gulf Oil Spill and its aftermath.
So, what’s the deal with the plug-in hybrid algae car? Well, for one, it uses no petroleum. The vehicle is either propelled by electrical energy only (stored in the onboard battery pack underneath the rear cargo space) or by a blend of electrical energy and algae fuel.
Rebecca told me that the car is capable of traveling 30 miles in all-electric mode. The blended mode kicks in after 30 miles, delivering an estimated 150 miles per gallon over those first 100 miles. After the first 100 miles, she says that the Prius still gets superb mpg. The most efficient driving mode is all-electric, of course, and you can plug the converted car into any standard 110-volt wall outlet and fully charge in just six hours.
While plug-in hybrid Prius conversions have been around for awhile now, this is the first one powered by algae fuel (others have used petroleum). Josh and Rebecca have algae fuel for their car provided by Sapphire Energy. The beauty of algae fuel is that it is one of the most sustainably produced fuels in the world. Find out how algae fuel is produced here.
I plan on following up with Josh and Rebecca to learn more about this technology and find out how close we are to actually getting cars like this on the market. Needless to say, it is an exciting time in automotive history and I am glad that we are using our ingenuity to solve one of the most critical issues of our day.
Dr. Shannon Arvizu loves driving clean, green machines. You can find out more at MissElectric.com.
4 Comments
I read about Cynthia Warner – who runs manufacturing for Sapphire. She left BP to go do this. really intriguing , but will take a looooong time to get going in a meaningful, cost effective way. Thanks for the article.
This might not end up being the majority way we move people around in future but I’m not one of those who would use nitpicky L.C.A’s (Life Cycle Analyses) to pour cold water on this development.
Any real world “step change”, in the way things are done, at times of great change, is done by multiple ideas being put forward by multiple entrepreneurs. “Darwinian” selection means that many will fall by the wayside before the ultimate winning systems become clear, but that doesn’t mean that people should hesitate to put their ideas forward – it’s often very difficult to see which idea will ultimately triumph.