Bautista, Cristel V.

Engineering Management

BS ECE – 2B January 7, 2020

The water fueled cars have been kicking in all ages. Jules Verne, a prolific French author in the
foundation of modern science fiction wrote that “water will be the coal of the future” in 1874. Why don’t
we have water powered cars yet?

Many scientist attempt to do this kind of experiment. The idea became popular century after the
prediction of Jules Verne during the American oil crisis on 1970.

A productive inventor named Stanley Mayer patented a vehicle that he said could drive cross
country on only 75 liters of pure water. His water-fueled car was due to be examined by the expert
witness Michael Laughton, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Queen Mary, University of London but he
made a ‘lame excuse’ on the days of examination and the tests were never carried out. He ran into legal
trouble because of it.

In the late 2000s, a company called Genepax began marketing a water-powered car that they
claimed was going to save the world from global warming. But according to the first law of thermodynamics,
“energy cannot be created nor destroyed”.

Water is simply not a fuel, similar to carbon dioxide, it is the product of real fuel combusting. It still
carries energy locked up in its bond like many others based on splitting the bonds called electrolysis. It
means separation of hydrogen and oxygen molecules in water, the hydrogen will be used as fuel and fed
back to the engine. Then the hydrogen only produces water as waste.

Water is very stable and splitting it up requires a lot of effort. Only four percent of all hydrogen
produced comes from water electrolysis, some of which is generated by renewable energy or fossil fuel.
Researches at Stanfold claim to generate water fueled cars using solar power and saltwater. It should be
100% reliable. As a result it requires a lot of researches and effort to do this kind of prototype that could
save the world from global warming.

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-5K2wgXyY

https://www.unilad.co.uk/life/inventor-of-water-powered-car-died-screaming-they-poisoned-me/