Green cars or clean cars are road motor vehicles having a less harmful impact on the environment in comparison to traditional internal combustion engine cars running on diesel or petrol.
These cars can be powered by alternative fuel sources and may include the likes of:
- Hybrid electric cars,
- Battery electric cars,
- Hydrogen and fuel-cell cars,
- Ethanol cars,
- Compressed-air cars, and
- Natural gas cars.
Why Are These Cars Developed?
Conventional cars run on internal combustion engines burning fossil fuel to create motion.
The burning of fossil fuel results in the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Most of these gases are proven to contribute to global warming.
To top it off, most fossil fuels are created from crude oil which is not only a non-renewable resource but is also very dangerous to produce. Simple example – Oil spills, such as the Deepwater Horizon disaster, resulting in huge destruction of the marine habitat.
All of these factors have led to the development of green or clean cars; ones causing less damage to the environment.
Types of Green Cars
Green cars consist of vehicles functioning fully or partially on alternative energy sources other than fossil or carbon-intensive fuel, such as diesel or petrol.
Common types include the following:
Electric-powered cars
Examples of electric-powered cars include plug-in hybrids, electric cars, and fuel cell-powered hydrogen cars.
Electric cars usually exhibit a better fuel economy in comparison to conventional diesel or petrol cars but are hampered by range or the maximum attainable distance before the discharge of the battery.
Compared to an internal combustion engine vehicle, electric cars may result in a 99.9% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions depending on the source of the electricity.
Advantages of electric cars:
- They don’t produce exhaust fumes.
- Some battery packs are even capable of being charged with renewable energy sources.
- They’re much quieter than ICE-powered engines.
- Some of these cars come with regenerative braking; meaning the battery is partially recharged when the car’s braked.
Compressed air cars
Compressed air or liquid nitrogen cars are even less polluting than electric vehicles.
These sleek driver-only cars are capable of traveling long distances using only the electricity generated directly from the sun.
Hybrid cars
Hybrid cars run partly on fossil fuel and partly on electricity or hydrogen.
Most of these cars combine an ICE (internal combustion engine) with an electric engine, even though other variations do exist.
They’re more expensive to purchase, but in a period of five years, cost redemption is achieved as a result of better fuel economy.
To know more about green cars, in general, refer to the following infographic.
Infographic made by Plates4Less