Rajan Wilcox
Water-fuelled cars have been the subject of numerous international patents, magazine articles, and local television news coverage. While the idea of using water to power cars is appealing, it is not currently possible to extract chemical energy from water alone, according to the accepted laws of physics. Water is highly stable, with strong chemical bonds, and it takes more energy to separate water into its elements (hydrogen and oxygen) than can be released by recombining them. However, water injection can be used to cool the combustion chambers of engines, and some companies are working on ways to produce and dispense hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen fuel cells can replace internal combustion engines and emit only water from the tailpipe, but using hydrogen in an internal combustion engine would not be the best use of this technology.
Can water be used as fuel for cars?
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Possibility | Water-fuelled cars have been the subject of numerous international patents, newspaper and popular science magazine articles, local television news coverage, and websites. However, the claims for these devices have been found to be pseudoscience and some were found to be tied to investment frauds. |
| Working | Water-fuelled cars rely on some form of electrolysis to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen and then recombine them to release energy. |
| Efficiency | The laws of thermodynamics require that the energy inputs to create a fuel will always be greater than the energy obtained from using that fuel. |
| Zero-emissions | A car running on such a system could claim to be a zero-carbon emission vehicle, but those emissions do occur where the salt itself is produced. |
| Safety | H2 is a highly flammable and explosive gas and would require special care in installation and use. |
| Hydrogen cars | Hydrogen cars are in prototype stages now, nearing production. |
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What You'll Learn
Hydrogen cars of the future
Water cannot be used as fuel for cars. However, hydrogen, which can be produced from water, can be used as fuel for cars. Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (HFCVs) are powered by a fuel-cell stack in which pure hydrogen (H2) passes through a membrane to combine with oxygen (O2) from the air, producing the electricity that turns the wheels, plus water vapour. Hydrogen is also a useful and clean source of energy, whether being used to generate electricity in a fuel cell or being burned in a special combustion engine.
Although hydrogen-powered vehicles have been around since the 19th century, they have not been well received historically. In recent years, however, there has been renewed interest in hydrogen as an alternative fuel source for cars, especially with government entities rolling back EV regulations. Hydrogen cars are also being touted as a more realistic option than electric cars, which are currently pouring onto the market.
There are currently only about 17,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles on US roads, and all of them are in California, the sole state with a network of retail hydrogen fuelling stations. In the UK, there are only two mainstream hydrogen-powered cars on sale, and they have only been sold in small numbers. Toyota and Hyundai are the two car companies most devoted to hydrogen power, with Toyota's Mirai and Hyundai's Nexo SUV being the most prominent hydrogen-powered cars on the market.
While hydrogen cars have their benefits, they also have their drawbacks. Hydrogen production still has a notable environmental impact, and hydrogen vehicles require a network of fuelling stations, which is currently lacking. Hydrogen fuel cells are also not the only option for H2, and there is interest in using the gas to power internal combustion engines. However, most mainstream car manufacturers are less bullish on this prospect.
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Water-fuelled car frauds
Water-fuelled cars have been the subject of numerous international patents, magazine articles, and local television news coverage. However, the claims for these devices have been found to be pseudoscience, and some have been linked to investment frauds.
According to the laws of physics, there is no way to extract chemical energy from water alone. Water is highly stable, with very strong chemical bonds. Breaking these bonds requires energy, and the amount of energy released when the bonds are reformed is always less than the amount of energy put in, as per the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Therefore, water cannot be used as a source of energy.
Several individuals and companies have been implicated in water-fuelled car frauds. In 1996, Stanley Allen Meyer was found guilty of "gross and egregious fraud" by an Ohio court for his "Water Fuel Cell," which purportedly allowed a car to use water as fuel. He claimed that his device required less energy to perform electrolysis than conventional science predicted, but this was never independently verified. In 2002, the company Hydrogen Technology Applications claimed to be able to run a vehicle exclusively on water, invoking an unproven state of matter called "magnegases." They no longer make this claim. In 2003, Genesis World Energy announced a device that could power automobiles using energy from water, collecting over $2.5 million from investors, but none of their devices were ever brought to market. In 2006, the owner of Genesis World Energy, Patrick Kelly, was sentenced to five years in prison for theft. In 2008, Sri Lankan Thushara Priyamal Edirisinghe claimed to have driven a water-fuelled car 300 km on 3 litres of water, but he was later arrested on suspicion of investment fraud. That same year, Japanese company Genepax unveiled a car it claimed ran on only water and air, but the core technology was not disclosed. Other alleged water-fuelled car fraudsters include Filipino inventor Daniel Dingel, Pakistani man Agha Waqar Ahmad, and Ghulam Sarwar.
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Electrolysis and energy loss
Water-fuelled cars have been the subject of numerous international patents, news articles, and scientific publications. However, the claims made by these sources have been deemed pseudoscientific, and some have been linked to investment frauds.
According to the accepted laws of physics, it is impossible to extract chemical energy from water alone. Water is highly stable, with very strong chemical bonds. Breaking these bonds requires energy, and no energy can be released by reforming them.
Most proposed water-fuelled cars rely on electrolysis to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then be recombined to release energy. However, this process always results in energy loss. The first law of thermodynamics dictates that the energy required to separate the elements will always be equal to the amount of energy released, assuming no losses. The second law of thermodynamics further states that the amount of useful energy released will always be less than the amount of energy input. For instance, it may take four British thermal units (BTUs) of electricity to produce three BTUs of hydrogen from water. While there may be cases where this energy loss is economically justified, it is generally more efficient to use electricity directly to power a vehicle than to convert it into hydrogen through electrolysis.
There have been several attempts to develop water-fuelled cars using electrolysis. In 2002, Hydrogen Technology Applications patented an electrolyser design and claimed that it could run a vehicle exclusively on water by producing "Aquygen," a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gas. However, the company no longer makes this claim and now markets "Aquygen" production as a technique to increase fuel efficiency. In the same year, Genesis World Energy announced a similar device, but none of their products ever made it to market, and the owner was later sentenced to prison for theft. In 2008, Genepax unveiled a car that allegedly ran on only water and air, but the company never disclosed the technology behind it.
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Steam cars
However, steam cars required constant care and attention, with drivers needing to closely monitor steam pressures and other gauges. They were also heavy due to their dependence on boilers, and the process of starting one was time-consuming and inconvenient, taking up to 30 minutes to start from cold and get the burner to operating temperature. The need to supply feedwater to the boiler was also a significant restriction.
Despite these drawbacks, there has been a resurgence of interest in steam cars as a potential renewable energy source for road vehicles. Steam cars have the advantage of being able to be configured for very low emissions, avoiding pollution. However, the technical challenges posed by the boiler, which represents much of the vehicle's mass, remain a hurdle.
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Hydrogen fuel enhancement
Water cannot be used as fuel for cars. According to the currently accepted laws of physics, there is no way to extract chemical energy from water alone. Water is highly stable, and it requires energy to break its stable bonds to separate it into its elements.
However, hydrogen, which can be derived from water, can be used as fuel for cars. Hydrogen vehicles include some road vehicles, such as cars, trucks, and forklifts. Hydrogen vehicles use hydrogen to generate motive power by converting the chemical energy of hydrogen to mechanical energy. This is done by reacting hydrogen with oxygen in a fuel cell to power electric motors or, less commonly, by hydrogen internal combustion. Hydrogen burns cleaner than fuels such as gasoline or methane.
The process of using hydrogen as fuel for cars is known as hydrogen fuel enhancement. Hydrogen fuel enhancement involves using a mixture of hydrogen and conventional hydrocarbon fuel in an internal combustion engine to improve fuel economy, power output, and emissions. Methods of hydrogen fuel enhancement include hydrogen produced through electrolysis, storing hydrogen on the vehicle as a second fuel, or reforming conventional fuel into hydrogen with a catalyst. Hydrogen fuel enhancement has been promoted for use with gasoline-powered and diesel trucks, but electrolysis-based designs have repeatedly failed efficiency tests and contradict the widely accepted laws of thermodynamics.
There have been several attempts to develop water-fuelled cars. In 2002, Genesis World Energy announced a device that would extract energy from water by separating and recombining hydrogen and oxygen. However, the company's devices were never brought to market, and the owner was sentenced to prison for theft. In 2008, Genepax unveiled a car it claimed ran on only water and air, but the core technology was not disclosed. In 2002, Hydrogen Technology Applications patented a design that claimed to run a vehicle exclusively on water, but the company no longer makes this claim and instead markets its technology as hydrogen fuel enhancement.
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Frequently asked questions
Water cannot be used as fuel for cars in its natural state. However, water can undergo electrolysis to be separated into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then be used as fuel.
Electrolysis uses electricity to split water into its component molecules of hydrogen and oxygen. The resulting hydrogen can then be injected into the engine's combustion process to power the car.
Using water as a fuel source for cars can help reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency. The hydrogen produced from water can be used to power fuel cells, which can replace internal combustion engines and emit only water from the tailpipe.
Yes, several companies have explored the idea of water-fuelled cars. In 2002, Genesis World Energy announced a device that could extract energy from water, and in 2008, Japanese company Genepax unveiled a car that allegedly ran on only water and air. However, these technologies have not come to market, and the companies have faced legal issues and criticism.
One major challenge is the energy required to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water. According to the laws of thermodynamics, the energy required to separate the elements will always be equal to or greater than the amount of energy released, resulting in a net energy loss. Additionally, hydrogen is highly flammable and explosive, requiring special care in installation and use.
