2010 VolksWagen Cars Beetle Bio-Bug Powered by Sewage Waste

Mohammed Saddiq, general manager of GENeco, has another idea, which would take something that's normally thought of as waste, and turn it into a way to power a vehicle. The prototype  2010 VolksWagen Cars Beetle Bio-Bug is powered by methane gas which is produced from human waste at sewage works. Another environmentally friendly car has been shown to the world today by Wessex Water in England.

2010 VolksWagen Cars Beetle Bio-Bug Powered by Sewage Waste. The Bio-Bug is a project from Wessex Water, a sewage treatment company in England. Now there’s Bio-Bug, a VW Beetle that runs on the methane gas generated at a sewage treatment plant, reports The Telegraph. Wessex Water, near Bristol, England, says that human waste from the toilets of 70 homes can power the Bio-Bug for a year.

2010 VolksWagen Cars Beetle Bio-Bug Powered by Sewage Waste

GENeco believes that more gas will be produced at its Avonmouth site when the company embarks on its latest green venture to recycle food waste. Mr Saddiq said: “Waste flushed down the toilets in homes in the city provides power for the Bio-Bug, but it won’t be long before further energy is produced when food waste is recycled at our sewage works.

At first glance, the Beetle appears to be a publicity stunt for GENeco, which owns a number of waste treatment sites in the U.K. But consider this: A single sewage treatment plant in Bristol, England generates 18 million cubic meters of biogas each year. The Bio-Bug squeezes out 5.3 miles per cubic meter of biogas. So just one sewage treatment plant could keep cars running for 5,400,000 miles each year, according to the British Daily Mail.

The Volkswagen Beetle dubbed the “Bio-Bug” was built for GENeco by UK’s The Greenfuel Company. The Bio-Bug’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine was converted to run on biogas and still hit about 114 miles per hour. However, the Bio-Bug uses regular unleaded gas to start, then switches over to methane automatically once it’s running. GENeco, a company owned by Wessex Water, supplied the equipment to treat the gas. “If you were to drive the car you wouldn’t know it was powered by biogas, as it performs just like any conventional car,” said Mohammed Saddiq, general manager of GENeco, in the release.

Mr. Saddiq explained that GENeco had been supplying treated compressed methane gas to generate electricity for the plant site and exported to the National Grid. The fuel for the Bio-Bug was surplus gas “we had available” and “we wanted to put it to good use in a sustainable and efficient way.”

The Bio-Bug was built by the Greenfuel Company, which specializes in converting gas cars to run on liquified petroleum gas.

2010 VolksWagen Cars Beetle Bio-Bug Powered by Sewage Waste

“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.”

Brilliant! Now, that’s a great marketing hook.

2011 Infiniti Cars M35h Sports Sedan The "Driver's" Hybrid

The “driver’s hybrid” from Infiniti, the M35h sports sedan, will introduce world-first steering and braking technologies when it goes on sale in the USA and Europe in 2011. The company calls the M35h a "driver's hybrid," with innovations in both steering and braking technologies designed to blend fuel efficiency with driving feel. As the first in-house hybrid from Nissan/Infiniti, the M35h is pretty unassuming. Indeed, although the test cars we drove in Japan were covered with decals advertising their gasoline-electricness, small “hybrid” badges on the production models’ front fenders will be the biggest powertrain giveaway once the cars arrive stateside next spring.

The Infiniti’s single electric motor is located between the engine and automatic transmission, in place of a conventional torque converter. The 67-hp motor is connected to the crankshaft via a wet-plate clutch. This allows the M to use its 1.3-kWh, 340-volt lithium-ion battery pack for electric-only propulsion at speeds up to about 60 mph as long as the driver keeps throttle application below 20 percent.

The 2011 Infiniti sports sedan M35h uses a 3.5-litre petrol V6 and a 68 PS (50 kW) electric motor for propulsion while power is put to the ground via a seven-speed automatic gearbox. The brakes are similarly designed primarily to suit sports sedan buyers’ needs, but at the same time contributing to the lower carbon footprint of the M35h, low CO2 champion of Infiniti’s all-new M Line sports sedan line-up.

Central to this is its one motor/two clutch system. The first clutch is installed between the naturally-aspirated 3.5-litre V6 and the electric motor, which is embedded within the automatic transmission. The electronically controlled clutch allows the full decoupling of the V6 when the car is in electric drive and power regeneration modes. Decoupling the V6 reduces mechanical drag and boosts the efficiency of the electric motor.

Aided by an exceptionally fast charge/discharge response from the lithium-ion battery pack, the result is a hybrid that’s electrically powered for more of the time, and at higher speeds, than conventional hybrids.

Infiniti’s sports sedan first hybrid, the M35h is the low CO2 star of the all-new M Line which also includes petrol and diesel models and which is the first M ever to be sold in all of Infiniti’s 34 world markets.

 2011 Infiniti Cars M35h Sports Sedan The "Driver's" Hybrid

Among the Infiniti M’s many other claims to fame are the world-first Blind Spot Intervention (BSI), state-of-the-art Forest Air climate control and Active Noise Control, while comfort and luxury are taken care of with double-piston dampers and the availability of semi-aniline leather in the spacious cabin.

Extensive details regarding these two innovations are available in the press release and Inifiniti said it will sell the M35h sports sedan on all of their 34 world markets. M35h sports sedan sales start in spring 2011, depending on market.