Aluminum has potential as eco-friendly auto fuel

Aluminum is one of the most ubiquitous manufacturing materials of the industrialized era, but few would suspect that this commonplace metal harbors tremendous potential as an ecological fuel source.

Scientists at Alchemy Research are currently working on the development of aluminum as an automobile fuel, via a process which uses the aluminum-water reaction as a source of cheap yet clean renewable energy.

The process involves heating water into 900-degree steam, engendering a reaction which releases 50% of its energy as heat and the remainder as hydrogen which can power automobile fuel cells.

The waste product for the process is aluminum oxide from which aluminum can be extracted using electricity, meaning that the fuel is essentially rechargeable.

According to the Dvice website, aluminum has twice the energy density of gasoline and the process under development could enable vehicles to cover 1,500 miles of road per tank.

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