Crave

The E-Fuel Micro-Fueler, on display in New York. Click for photo gallery.

(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com)

NEW YORK--"Henry Ford had it right all along," E-Fuel founder and CEO Thomas Quinn declared, referring to the fact that many original Model T Ford automobiles ran on the ethanol, not gasoline. But that was before the era of Prohibition, which banned production of the biofuel along with other forms of alcohol.

Now, he hopes ethanol can have a real revival.

In a press event at Revel, a Meatpacking District restaurant that features a greenhouse-like roof and trees growing inside, Quinn and his fellow executives unveiled the EFuel100 MicroFueler. It looks like a cross between a gas pump and an old-fashioned refrigerator, it'll cost $9,995, and it'll be available for customers in the fourth quarter of 2008 (if all goes well).

What is it, exactly? It's a home ethanol refinery. Connect it to a power source and a water source, add sugar "feedstock" and yeast or discarded alcohol (yes, that could mean last week's tequila) and in a week it can produce 35 gallons of ethanol that Quinn said any car can run on.

"I'm from Silicon Valley and I've worked with some very talented entrepreneurs in my lifetime," explained Quinn, whose previous start-up Gyration was responsible for a patent in Nintendo's "Wiimote" controller. "A couple years ago, I sensed this paradigm shift that we're all feeling today." He was referring to fossil fuel shortages and the rising cost of gasoline. With gas prices well over $3 per gallon, and no real middle ground in the market between industrial biofuels (there are still only 1,200 ethanol stations in the U.S., and only three in the entire state of New York) and "moonshining" operations that can be difficult and dangerous, he saw the opportunity to create the EFuel100.

"It's almost third-grade science to make ethanol," Quinn said. Anyone in the U.S. can obtain a license to produce alcohol, ethanol included.

But ethanol, for better or for worse, has gotten a bad rap. Some have connected rising food prices to the fact that corn-based ethanol means crops are going toward fuel rather than human consumption, and some reports have claimed that ethanol's carbon footprint isn't as "green" as it appears.

E-Fuel's executives have attempted to counter this rumor by saying that its sugar-based ethanol won't hurt food prices because sugar is a surplus crop, and that sugar ethanol is inherently more efficient than corn. And it's safe to make at home, because no combustion is involved.

Throughout the press conference on Thursday, Quinn reiterated that there's nothing unusual about making car fuel in your backyard.

"We're already in the ethanol business," he explained, gesturing to the bar at the back of the restaurant, "but we're using it as a beverage drink."

Koenigsegg released more details on its special edition CCX and CCXR cars.

While the car will not be officially unveiled until the 2008 Geneva auto show in March, the company has released some early images and a full set of specs for fans to salivate over.

Special edition CCXR.

(Credit: Koenigsegg)

Both versions of the limited-edition run will feature a 5-liter twin supercharged engine with 6-speed plus reverse gearbox. Both models will go 0-62 mph in 2.9 seconds. The CCX tops out at 245 mph, while the biofuel CCXR tops out at 250 mph.

But you better act fast if you have the 1,330,000 euros or 1,500,000 euros ($1.9 million and $2.2 million ) it's gonna cost you to pick up one of these. Koenigsegg is only making 14 in the CCX and six in the CCXR ,and two of each version are already sold, according to the company.

For more photos and specs, check out our gallery on CNET News.com.

G-oil biodegradable motor oil

(Credit: Green Earth Technologies)

Certain biofuels, though eco-friendly, have a reputation for gumming up engine parts, which affect vehicle performance and ultimately reduce engine life. So the idea of a bio-based motor oil makes some of us a little nervous. But one Bay Area-based company is hawking a green, biodegradable motor oil that it says will protect engines as well as name-brand, petroleum-based oil.

G-Oil, made by Green Earth Technologies, is made by converting tallow -- that's saturated cow fat to you and me -- into a high-value unsaturated oil, which is less likely to clog up engine parts. (Tallow was used historically to make products such as candles and soap, and was sometimes used in cooking.) The resulting motor oil, according to the label, can be used in naturally-aspirated engines, as well as turbocharged and super-charged diesel and gasoline engines. In addition, the packaging is 100 percent recyclable, and the labels are printed on biodegradable paper with soy ink.

The company says the used oil is non-toxic and can be disposed of at home, but it must first be mixed with another of the company's products, called G-disposoil. The second compound breaks the oil into smaller molecules, which can be eaten by microorganisms found in the soil. However, there is no mention of whether other hazardous chemicals might be picked up by the oil during its lifespan inside the engine.

There isn't much information yet on how to buy G-oil, although the company recently showed off its products at the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) in Las Vegas.

Related link: Green Earth Technology

CHIBA, Japan--Nissan is going to come out with more hybrid cars and completely electric vehicles in a few years.

But it's less excited about ethanol and biodiesel.

Nissan's Minoru Shinohara amid the Ceatec crowds.

(Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET News.com)

Technically speaking, designing an ethanol or biodiesel car is fairly straightforward, said Minoru Shinohara, senior vice president and general manager of the Technology Development Division at Nissan, during a meeting at the Ceatec show here this week.

The problem is the cost of the fuel. Both biodiesel and ethanol cost more than regular gas, when changes in mileage and other factors are calculated.

"The most important thing is availability of fuel," Shinohara said. In the future, he speculated, biofuel cars could account for 10 percent to 20 percent of all cars sold. It's a large percentage, but nowhere close to a majority.

There are also the political and societal questions, he added. Do you have to use cropland that might be better used in growing food? Do you have to cut down tropical forests?

It's the opposite with cars that run on electricity. The societal questions are easy. The tough part is coming up with a battery that is small enough and cheap enough to put into a car.

Electric cars probably won't be replacements for current petroleum cars. Batteries can't provide a range that gas-powered cars can. Instead, manufacturers will tout them as second cars or town cars designed for ordinary, short commutes. Getting consumers to understand, and act on, the town car concept is going to take a lot of marketing and work, Shinohara said.

"They (electric cars) are not a replacement for traditional vehicles," he said.

Nissan's electric plans are already under way. The company currently sells some hybrid vehicles that rely on components and technology from Toyota. It will come out with cars based on its own hybrid system in 2010. (Nissan got a good share of the buzz at last month's Frankfurt auto show with its electric-powered concept car, the Mixim.)

The first mass-produced electric car from Nissan will then likely follow in 2011 or 2012, Shinohara added. It will likely be a city car. He's a lot less excited about the concept about plug-in hybrids--again, it's the price/benefit equation.

The basis of these future hybrids and electrics will likely come from batteries from a joint venture formed earlier this year between Nissan and NEC.

CORONADO, Calif.--The car of the future will apparently have more in common with a kitchen appliance than a lawn mower.

Car design in years to come?

(Credit: Cuisinart)

"The future is going to be an automobile that looks like a two-ton Cuisinart," said Josh Wolfe, managing partner of Lux Capital, at the Future in Review conference Wednesday. Wolfe was part of a panel discussion entitled "The Future of Energy on the Nanoscale," in which panelists focused mostly on battery technologies and how those will evolve for cars and other devices.

The night before, researcher J. Craig Venter suggested that fuels derived from algae could provide a much more abundant source of energy than that black goo under the deserts of the Middle East. Venter has been analyzing samples of ocean water taken during a cruise of the Sargasso Sea, and he and his team think they can use gene-sequencing technology to create microbes that could provide a future source of fuel. "My goal is to replace the petrochemical industry by the next decade."

Wednesday's panelists steered clear of biology, preferring to work on finding new markets for their existing products. "The nanomaterials and nanoscience haven't hooked up with the market," said Keith Blakely, CEO of Nanodynamics, which is working on fuel cell technology*.

"Most important is the electrification of automobiles, this is the trend, more than biofuel or gas substitutes," Wolfe said.

The Future in Review agenda is filled with discussions on future energy sources and challenges, and more debates are sure to emerge on how best to reduce the world's dependence on oil and coal.

*UPDATED - Keith Blakely notes in the comments below that I misinterpreted the tense on his remarks, in that when the Future in Review conference first started, the market opportunities weren't there. But, as evidenced by the fact that companies like Nanodynamics exist, the situation has changed. Sorry, Keith.