Germany is looking for alternatives to save the combustion engine without relying on hydrogen as other countries plan to switch to electric vehicles by 2030-2035.
An Austrian-German company called Obrist Group has developed a revolutionary methanol engine called HyperHybrid that pairs an internal combustion engine with a small battery pack, making it a hybrid vehicle.
The engine is compact, lightweight, and designed specifically to run on methanol, a synthetic fuel derived from renewable sources like CO2 and water.
Methanol engines produce lower emissions than gasoline engines, especially when using carbon-neutral renewable methanol. They also have high thermal efficiency and can achieve impressive driving ranges of over 1000 km.
Obrist’s methanol engine represents a possible carbon-negative solution as it uses aMethanol or aFuel generated from renewable sources via a process that removes CO2 from the air.
The company has prototyped the HyperHybrid powertrain and aims to launch it commercially in vehicles by 2025. They see potential for large-scale renewable methanol production plants in sunny regions.
This methanol engine breakthrough could offer Germany an alternative to save the combustion engine without relying solely on battery electric vehicles. It represents a more sustainable fuel option compared to gasoline.
Source: ECO News
