New cars 'could run on trash'

30 Mar 2009, 1:44 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Australian-built alternative-energy engines originally made their debut at the International Motor Show in Sydney in 2006. (AAP)

Australian-built alternative-energy engines originally made their debut at the International Motor Show in Sydney in 2006. (AAP)

Motorists could soon be using fuel made from trash, including old tyres and plastic bottles, to power their cars, according to an alternative fuel expert.

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Motorists could soon be using fuel made from trash, including old tyres and plastic bottles, to power their cars, an alternative fuel expert says.

Wes Bolsen, from US company Coskata, said anything that included carbon could provide the basis of ethanol, an alternative fuel with the potential to cut the world's reliance on petrol and slash greenhouse gas emissions.

"Motorists want to have the choice of using a fuel that is cheaper than conventional petrol, is good for the environment and that provides local jobs," Mr Bolsen said.

His comments came as he met on Monday with Holden officials in Australia.

The local car company has formed an alliance with Coskata after announcing plans to produce Commodores capable of running on E85 ethanol fuel from 2010.

Mr Bolsen said Coskata was seeking to rapidly commercialise ethanol as an alternative to petrol with the potential to replace up to 30 per cent of current petrol consumption.

Holden's energy and environment director Richard Marshall said Holden wanted to develop the use of other alternative fuels, including LPG and compressed natural gas.

But he said the company believed ethanol had the biggest potential to displace a significant amount of petrol in the near term.

"It's renewable and can be produced in volume from plants grown virtually everywhere in the world," he said.

"But you can also produce ethanol from plant fibre and even waste and the processes to achieve this have improved dramatically over the past decade."

Mr Marshall said the technology to have cars run efficiently on ethanol was already well developed, while more work was needed to increase the production and availability of the fuel itself.

But he said the biggest problem was gaining public acceptance.

"To have people driving in and choosing the E85 pump, that's really the test," he said.

Mr Marshall said Holden believed there was no single solution to the emerging problem of producing sustainable transport.

But he said E85 fuel was an important component of the company's strategy and a key to its future success.
 

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