Green Fuels

What are the different type

There are more types of green fuel than just electricity – and not all of them are available in this country. But green fuels are becoming increasingly important in the search for low-emission, ultra-low emission and zero emission vehicles. For business drivers in particular, the benefits of a green fuel typically mean lower company car tax rates.

So what are the different types of green fuel?

Electricity

Electric-Car

Electric cars are becoming more popular as the infrastructure grows around them

MORE and more cars are heading down electric avenue. However, there’s still a long way to go before we can consider electric vehicles (EV) to be truly mainstream.

you’ll need to have access to a garage or off-street parking in order to charge an electric car at home

Bear in mind you’ll need to have access to a garage or off-street parking in order to charge an electric car at home, as it’s not permissible to trail a charging cable across the pavement. But the charging network is growing and it’s now possible to recharge your batteries in supermarket car parks, designated city centre parking bays and motorway service stations.

Be advised that an electric vehicle will have a likely range of up to 100 miles (the 250+ mile Tesla is an exception), making them suitable for short trips, such as the commute to the office. Alternatively, you could consider a hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicle, which offer the combination of an electric motor and a conventional petrol or diesel engine.

Although we have included electricity as one of our types of green fuel, HMRC does not consider electricity to be a fuel. So if you run an electric vehicle as a company car, you will not be able to claim electric car business mileage rates.

Hydrogen

UNLIKE fossil fuels, hydrogen is in abundance.

In fact, hydrogen makes up 75% of the universe we live in, so there’s no danger of it running out any time soon! The Hyundai ix35 was the world’s first production hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), with energy created using the process of passing hydrogen through a fuel cell.

There are many advantages to running a hydrogen-powered car:

There are many advantages to running a hydrogen-powered car, leading some industry analysts to suggest that it – rather than electric – is the future of the motor car.

For example, the only thing coming out of the tailpipe is water, and that’s so clean you can drink it. You also get the same, quiet propulsion as an electric vehicle, the same instant torque, a longer range than an EV, plus – and this is where the hydrogen FCEV has the EV well and truly licked – it can be refilled in the same time it takes to fill a conventional car with fuel.

If – and it’s a big if – a commercially-viable fuelling network can be established, the FCEV could be the next big thing. Hyundai already has the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell on sale, while Toyota is now selling its hydrogen powered Mirai .

AdBlue filler

AdBlue diesel exhaust fluid

ADBLUE is an increasingly common additive for that is something of a shortcut for many manufacturers to make their diesel engines comply with stringent Euro-6 emission regulations.

Such Euro 6 emission diesels are not the target of London Mayor’s diesel battle to clean up London’s air, by the way; the London Mayor is targeting earlier Euro 4 standard diesels with the T-charge – read New timeline for the Mayor of London’s accelerated war on pollution.

It converts harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) from the vehicle exhaust into harmless nitrogen and steam, reducing the emissions blamed as a major source of atmospheric pollution and smog in cities. NOx emissions are known to aggravate asthma and threatening the lives of both the very young and very oldest of a city’s population.

To meet these new regulations manufacturers have had to re-think the exhaust system on their vehicles and may have now equipped them with the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system in the exhaust.

AdBlue is a high purity urea solution that must be used in a dedicated tank on the vehicle, that should just be refilled as and when required. AdBlue is non-flammable and non-explosive. It is classified as a transportable fluid with minimal risk.

How to use AdBlue

1. Only pour AdBlue into the AdBlue tank;
2. Only use AdBlue clean equipment when storing or refilling AdBlue;
3. Ensure tank and container seals remain and intact;
4. Use AdBlue or demineralised water only when cleaning internally or priming AdBlue equipment;
5. Wear protective clothing when handling large quantities of AdBlue;
6. Rinse spillages thoroughly with water;
7. AdBlue freezes at an ambient temperature of 12?F or -11?C and decomposes above 30?C, so protect from extreme temperatures;
8. Once frozen, AdBlue can be used again, once thawed gently, as it returns to its original state;
9. Keep AdBlue out of direct sunlight