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Introduction
As the world today is looking for ways to minimize our carbon footprint, one of the solutions I would like to discuss is switching to more eco-friendly fuels on a larger scale.
Here are three sources of energy that can be used in the future:
• Electricity
• Hydrogen
• Biodiesel

ELECTRICITY
Electric cars can use a variety of renewable energy sources to generate their electricity.
They convert the direct current electricity from about thousands of lithium ion batteries into an alternating current. This battery pack has longer lifespan and a higher power density, which makes them ideal for powering a vehicle. Furthermore, most e-car manufacturers give it a very reasonable warranty. Charging an e-car is also easy, convenient and cheap.
No doubt e-cars come with higher price tags than their gasoline fellows, but according to a recent study, the annual average operating cost of an electric car is much lower than that for a gasoline car. Plus, e-cars have the potential to be 100% green. So they are a suitable choice for the future.

HYDROGEN
Like electric cars, hydrogen cars are eco-friendly as they only emit water vapour. Also, it can be produced domestically from several sources, thus reducing dependency on oil.
Hydrogen can be made from natural gas or water. A hydrogen fuel cell uses electrolysis between hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity.
However, there are still serious questions on its production, storage, distribution, efficiency and affordability. Currently, it is extremely expensive and is only available in very few places. So there are significant challenges that need to be overcome before hydrogen fuel cells can become a primary fuel source.

BIODIESEL
Biodiesel is a type of fuel produced from soybeans, vegetable oil or grease that includes animal fat. Any car with a diesel engine can run on it. In order to power the car, the oil and grease need to be converted into biodiesel through chemical process.
The process itself can actually be done at home (however, make sure that your car can handle it). It can be blended with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It is much cheaper and cleaner than fossil diesel.

OTHER FUELS
Some other alternative fuels that can be used for vehicles are compressed natural gas (CNG), ethanol, solar power and fruit-based fuels.

KINETIC ENERGY RECOVERY SYSTEM (KERS)
It is an automotive system for recovering a moving vehicle’s kinetic energy under braking. The recovered energy is stored in a reservoir for later use under acceleration. Engineers could modify KERS so that it works for all types of vehicles, irrespective of their fuels.

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