Gas 2.0

A Flemish company has announced plans to sell what it claims to be the world’s only true zero emissions vehicle, the HPV (pictured above).

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“The vehicle is really exciting,” says Dirk Apers, who spearheaded the project. “The components are relatively simple and easy to mass produce. Also, since the vehicles cost less than $1,000, we hope they will be useful for providing cheaper transportation not only in the developed world, but also in developing countries.”

The HPV, which stands for Human Powered Vehicle, works with the use of a biological engine that harnesses the driver’s body energy. While this energy would be an inefficient way to power heavy, traditional cars, the new vehicle’s intelligently designed ultra light body makes the power transfer frighteningly efficient. A WorldWatch Institute report on the HPV found that per passenger-mile the vehicle required only 35 calories of energy, compared to 1,860 for a traditional car.

Although other zero emissions cars, such as the “water car” and the “air car,” have so far failed to capture widespread consumer investment, experts believe the HPV has serious market potential for several reasons. Among these is the price. With the average American spending an average of $240,704 to $349,968 on motor vehicles in their lifetime, according to Motor Trend, getting a set of wheels for under a grand may have appeal. The vehicle is also more compact than traditional motor vehicles. In a German demonstration of 100 of the vehicles, they took up only a fraction of the space used by the same number of traditional cars.

[Editor's note (4/1/09): In the photo, the HPV vehicle is the one on the left.]

Image credit: Seth W. via Flickr, under a Creative Commons License.

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