Good news for sustainable power: VW Beetle powered by sewage treatment works takes to the road
Last updated 8/9/2010 9:18:06 AM
VW Beetle powered by sewage treatment works takes to the road
The UK's first people-powered VW Beetle has been hailed as a breakthrough in the drive to encourage sustainable power.
The Bio-Bug runs on methane gas generated during a sewage treatment process in Bristol .Waste flushed down the toilets of just 70 homes is enough to power the Bio-Bug for a year, based on an annual mileage of 10,000 miles.
It's been made possble with support from the South West Regional Development Agency and GENeco, a Wessex Water-owned company. Mohammed Saddiq, general manager of GENeco, said he was confident that methane from sewage sludge could be used as an alternative energy source and was an innovative way of powering company vehicles.
"Our site at Avonmouth has been producing biogas for many years which we use to generate electricity to power the site and export to the National Grid," he said. "With the surplus gas we had available we wanted to put it to good use in a sustainable and efficient way. We decided to power a vehicle on the gas offering a sustainable alternative to using fossil fuels which we so heavily rely on in the UK.
"If you were to drive the car you wouldn't know it was powered by biogas as it performs just like any conventional car. It is probably the most sustainable car around.
Environmentalist Jonathon Porritt, Founder Director of Forum for the Future , said: "On first hearing of the Bio-Bug, some people will smile, and some people will go yuck! Either way, what I hope they realise is that this is exactly the kind of innovation we now need for a more sustainable world."
Countries including India and China use compressed natural gas (CNG) to power vehicles and a number of companies in the UK are now using CNG mainly to fuel buses and commercial vehicles. In Sweden, more than 11,500 vehicles already run on biomethane produced from sewage plants. But using biogas from sewage sludge is yet to take off in the UK despite a significant amount being produced everyday at sewage plants around the country.
The choice of car was inspired by students who took part in a workshop. They thought it would be appropriate that the poo-powered car should be the classic VW Beetle Bug because bugs naturally breakdown waste at sewage works to start the treatment process which goes on to produce the energy.