Team Spicy Salamanders

A Greener Way to Travel: The History of Vehicle Fuel

For our project, we interpreted “new energy” as scientific advances in powering cars that reduce pollution. We created an animated timeline where our protagonist, Phil the Spicy Salamander, introduces important advances in automobile fuel technology. We have panels depicting five different methods of transportation: horse-drawn carriages, flex-fuel cars, nuclear cars, electric cars, and hydrogen cars. Each of these modes of transportation affect the environment in different ways, depending on their fuel and their waste products. The purpose of this animated infographic is to introduce new technology in car manufacturing to the general public in a way that is fun and easy to understand.

Check out the prototype below!

References

Alternative Fuels Data Center. (n.d.). Alternative fuels and advanced vehicles. U.S. Department of Energy. https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/

Alternative Fuels Data Center. (n.d.). Fuel cell electric vehicles. U.S. Department of Energy. https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/fuel_cell.html#:~:text=Fuel%20cell%20electric%20vehicles%20(FCEVs,water%20vapor%20and%20warm%20air.

ANS Nuclear Cafe. (2021, July 12). The 1958 Ford Nucleon: An idea that’s still ahead of its time. Nuclear Newswire. https://www.ans.org/news/article-3058/the-1958-ford-nucleon-an-idea-thats-still-ahead-of-its-time/

Appleton, S., & National Geographic Society. (2022, September 27). What is nuclear energy? [Video]. National Geographic. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/what-nuclear-energy

Biofuels explained: Biofuels and the environment. (2022, April 13). U.S. Energy Information Administration. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/biofuels/biofuels-and-the-environment.php

Department of Energy. (2011, March 18). Driving “back to the future”: Flex-fuel vehicle awareness. U.S. Department of Energy. https://www.energy.gov/articles/driving-back-future-flex-fuel-vehicle-awareness

Elghandour, M. M. M. Y., Adegbeye, M. J., Barbabosa-Pilego, A., Perez, N. R., Hernández, S. R., Zaragoza-Bastida, A., & Salem, A. Z. M. (2018). Equine contribution in methane emission and its mitigation strategies. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 72, 56-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2018.10.020

Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office. (n.d.). Hydrogen production. Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hydrogen-production

Kuznetsov, P. F. (2015). The emergence of bronze age chariots in eastern Europe. Antiquity, 80(309), 638-645. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00094096

Petroleum chemistry. (2015). Petroleum.co.uk. Retrieved September 30, 2022, from https://www.petroleum.co.uk/chemistry

The Department of Energy. (2014, September 15). The history of the electric car. U.S. Department of Energy. https://www.energy.gov/articles/history-electric-car#:~:text=Here%20in%20the%20U.S.%2C%20the,spark%20interest%20in%20electric%20vehicles.

Toyota ushers in the future with launch of ‘Mirai’ fuel cell sedan. (2014, November 18). Toyota. https://global.toyota/en/detail/4198334

Turgeon, A., & Morse, E. (2022, July 27). Petroleum. National Geographic. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/petroleum

Turgeon, A., Morse, E. (2022, May 20). Natural gas. National Geographic. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/natural-gas

Vehicle Technologies Office. (2013, November 22). Internal combustion engine basics. Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/articles/internal-combustion-engine-basics

Water Power Technologies Office. (n.d.). Hydropower basics. Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/hydropower-basics

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