Katerina Swanson
Water-fuelled cars have been a topic of interest for many years, with the first reported instance being in 1935 when Charles H. Garrett demonstrated a water-fuelled car for several minutes. Since then, there have been several instances of inventors claiming to have created cars that run on water, including Stanley Meyer, who claimed his Water Fuel Cell could split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and Indonesian inventor Aryanto Misel, who claimed his invention, Nikuba, could convert water into hydrogen to fuel motorcycles. However, according to the currently accepted laws of physics, it is not possible to extract chemical energy from water alone, and water-fuelled cars remain a speculative concept. While water may not be a feasible fuel source on its own, it can serve as a source of hydrogen, which is a key component in powering fuel cells for cars. This process, known as hydrogen fuel cell technology, involves using electrolysis to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then be used to power electric motors.
Water-fuelled cars
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Hydrogen-powered cars | Water can be used to produce hydrogen, which can then be used to power cars |
| Hydrogen car | Electricity is used to generate hydrogen by electrolysis |
| Water injection | Water is added to the fuel-air mixture to cool the combustion chambers of engines |
| Steam car | Uses water as a working fluid, not as fuel |
| Electric car | Charged with or directly powered by hydroelectricity |
| Water-fuel cell | A non-functional design created by Stanley Allen Meyer, who claimed that a car retrofitted with the device could use water as fuel |
| Toyota Water Engine | Uses hydrogen fuel cell technology, with water as a source of hydrogen |
| Hybrid cars | May claim to derive some energy from water, in addition to a conventional source like gasoline |
| Hydrogen refueling stations | Not as widespread as conventional gasoline stations |
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What You'll Learn
Hydrogen fuel cell technology
While there is no car that uses water as fuel, hydrogen fuel cell technology has been used as an alternative to traditional fuel sources. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCV) are related to electric cars but differ in their power source. HFCVs use a fuel cell stack, where hydrogen combines with oxygen from the air to produce electricity, powering the car and emitting only water vapour. This process occurs without burning the hydrogen gas, instead transforming its chemical energy into electrical energy.
The hydrogen gas is stored in carbon-fibre reinforced tanks, providing fuel to the fuel cell stack. The electricity produced powers the car's electric motor and turns the wheels. This technology is considered zero-emissions, with water vapour as its only waste product. HFCVs are also quiet and energy-efficient, with a similar range and performance to gasoline cars.
HFCVs can be refuelled at "hydrogen fuelling stations", similar to traditional gas stations, with a five-minute refuelling time. However, as of mid-2022, there were fewer than 17,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles on US roads, limited to California due to the state's network of retail hydrogen fuelling stations. Honda, Hyundai, and Toyota have offered hydrogen-powered cars for sale, but Honda has ended production, and Hyundai has sold a limited number.
While water-fuelled cars have been proposed, they are not currently feasible. According to the laws of physics, it is not possible to extract chemical energy from water alone. Some inventors have claimed to have created devices that convert water into hydrogen fuel, but these claims have been disputed or found fraudulent.
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Electrolysis
While there is no way to extract chemical energy from water alone, electrolysis can be used to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then be recombined to release energy. This process, known as electrolysis, involves using direct electric current (DC) to drive a non-spontaneous chemical reaction. The word "lysis" means "to separate or break," so "electrolysis" refers to the breakdown of water via electricity.
The concept of using water as fuel for cars has been explored by several inventors, including Stanley Allen Meyer, who claimed to have created a "Water Fuel Cell" that split water into its component elements of hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen gas was then burned to convert chemical energy to heat energy, reconstituting the water molecules. However, Meyer's claims were deemed fraudulent by an Ohio court in 1996, and his device was found to violate the laws of thermodynamics.
Another example is Indonesian inventor Aryanto Misel, who claimed that his invention, Nikuba, could convert water into hydrogen fuel for motorcycles. However, Indonesian scientists stated that the device is theoretically impossible.
In 1800, English scientists William Nicholson and Anthony Carlisle used Alessandro Volta's invention, the voltaic pile, to electrolyze water. Humphry Davy, who had hypothesized that electrical energy is released when two elements combine to form a compound, later reported the results of extensive distilled water electrolysis experiments in 1806. He concluded that nitric acid was produced at the anode from dissolved atmospheric nitrogen. Dmitry Lachinov further developed a method of industrial synthesis of hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis in 1888, making it a cheap method for hydrogen production.
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Hydrogen-powered cars
While there have been claims of cars that can run exclusively on water, these have been deemed theoretically impossible according to the currently accepted laws of physics. Water is highly stable, and it requires energy to separate it into its constituent elements, hydrogen and oxygen.
However, hydrogen can be used as fuel for cars, and these are known as hydrogen-powered cars or hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (HFCV). Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles use an electric motor to turn the wheels, similar to a battery-electric car. However, instead of a large, heavy battery, they are powered by a fuel-cell stack where pure hydrogen passes through a membrane to combine with oxygen from the air, producing electricity and water vapour. This makes HFCVs zero-emission vehicles.
The driving experience of an HFCV is almost identical to that of a battery-electric vehicle, although they may not be as fast. HFCVs also include regenerative braking to recapture wasted energy as the car slows down. One of the challenges for automotive engineers is that hydrogen fuel cells are most efficient at a steady power output, while the power demands in an average car can vary significantly. To address this, some manufacturers add a high-voltage, low-capacity battery to provide extra power during acceleration.
As of mid-2022, there were around 17,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles on US roads, all of them in California, the only state with a network of retail hydrogen fuelling stations. Since 2015, three hydrogen-powered cars have been offered for sale: the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, the Hyundai Nexo SUV, and the Toyota Mirai, the best-selling hydrogen car in the US.
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Water injection
While water injection can enhance engine performance and efficiency, it also introduces complexities that may deter typical car buyers. These complexities include the need to refill a separate water tank frequently and the potential for corrosion if the water comes into contact with metal components. As a result, water injection systems have largely been limited to high-performance automobiles and aftermarket tuner cars, with BMW being the first major automaker in recent years to bring such a system to market.
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Perpetual motion machines
A perpetual motion machine is a hypothetical machine that can perform work indefinitely without drawing on an external energy source. In theory, such a machine would violate the first and/or second laws of thermodynamics, which state that the energy required to separate elements is equal to the amount of energy released, and that the amount of useful energy released is always less than the amount of energy input.
Despite this, the idea of perpetual motion machines has captured the public imagination for centuries, dating back to the Middle Ages. Modern proponents often use terms like "over unity" to describe their inventions. One example of a perpetual motion machine is a "mass leverage" device, where spherical weights on one side have more leverage than those on the other, supposedly creating perpetual rotation.
In the context of water-fuelled cars, the concept of perpetual motion machines has been explored by inventors such as Stanley Allen Meyer, who claimed to have created a water fuel cell that could power a car. Meyer's device purportedly split water into its component elements, hydrogen and oxygen, and then burned the hydrogen gas to convert chemical energy to heat energy, reconstituting the water molecules. However, Meyer's claims were found to be fraudulent by an Ohio court in 1996, and his device was characterised as pseudoscience.
Another example is Indonesian inventor Aryanto Misel, who claimed in 2022 that his invention, Nikuba, could convert water into hydrogen fuel for motorcycles. However, Indonesian scientists stated that the device is theoretically impossible.
While the idea of a water-fuelled car that operates as a perpetual motion machine is intriguing, it is important to recognise that, according to the currently accepted laws of physics, it is not possible to extract chemical energy from water alone. Most proposed water-fuelled cars rely on some form of electrolysis to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen, which are then recombined to release energy. This process requires an external energy input and therefore does not constitute perpetual motion.
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Frequently asked questions
Water alone cannot be used as fuel for cars according to the currently accepted laws of physics. However, water can be used to generate hydrogen through electrolysis, which can then be used as fuel.
Water (H2O) is subjected to electrolysis, where an electric current is passed through the water to separate it into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2). The hydrogen can then be used as fuel.
Hydrogen is a clean and renewable source of energy that can be used to power fuel cells, which can replace internal combustion engines and emit only water from the tailpipe.
Yes, the Toyota Water Engine uses hydrogen fuel cell technology, where water is used as a source of hydrogen to power the fuel cells. Other car companies are also working on developing hydrogen fuel cell technology.
There are marketing offers of kits that claim to convert a car to run on water, but these should be viewed with skepticism. Experts say that the energy equation on this type of system is not efficient, as the electrolysis process uses more energy than the resulting hydrogen can supply.
