How water could be the future of fuel (2024)

CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. — The tangle of pipes at this industrial plant doesn’t stand out in this city built around the carbon-heavy business of pumping oil and refining it into fuel for planes, ships, trucks and cars.

But this plant produces fuel from a different source, one that doesn’t belch greenhouse pollution: hydrogen. Specifically, hydrogen made from water using renewable electricity, also known as green hydrogen.

Aerial view of the Infinium plant. The plant feeds water through machines that pull out its hydrogen atoms, which are beige metal containers towards the bottom of the image. Along the right side of the image, there are towers where the hydrogen is chemically transformed into diesel for delivery trucks.

How water could be the future of fuel (1)

The plant feeds water

through machines that

pull out its hydrogen atoms.

The hydrogen is then

chemically transformed into

diesel for delivery trucks.

How water could be the future of fuel (2)

The plant feeds water

through machines that

pull out its hydrogen atoms.

The hydrogen is then

chemically transformed into

diesel for delivery trucks.

How water could be the future of fuel (3)

The plant feeds water

through machines that

pull out its hydrogen atoms.

The hydrogen is then

chemically transformed into

diesel for delivery trucks.

How water could be the future of fuel (4)

The plant feeds water

through machines that

pull out its hydrogen atoms.

The hydrogen is then

chemically transformed into

diesel for delivery trucks.

How water could be the future of fuel (5)

The plant feeds water

through machines that

pull out its hydrogen atoms.

The hydrogen is then

chemically transformed into

diesel for delivery trucks.

How water could be the future of fuel (6)

The plant feeds water

through machines that

pull out its hydrogen atoms.

The hydrogen is then

chemically transformed into

diesel for delivery trucks.

How water could be the future of fuel (7)

The plant feeds water

through machines that

pull out its hydrogen atoms.

The hydrogen is then

chemically transformed into

diesel for delivery trucks.

This process could represent the biggest change in how fuel for planes, ships, trains and trucks is made since the first internal combustion engine fired up in the 19th century. In his 1874 science fiction novel “The Mysterious Island,” Jules Verne predicted that “water will be the coal of the future.” This plant, one of the first in the world to transform water into fuel, shows what that looks like on the ground today.

Turning hydrogen into liquid fuel could help slash planet-warming pollution from heavy vehicles, cutting a key source of emissions that contribute to climate change. But to fulfill that promise, companies will have to build massive numbers of wind turbines and solar panels to power the energy-hungry process. Regulators will have to make sure hydrogen production doesn’t siphon green energy that could go towards cleaning up other sources of global warming gases, such as homes or factories.

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Although cars and light trucks are shifting to electric motors, other forms of transport will likely rely on some kind of liquid fuel for the foreseeable future. Batteries are too heavy for planes and too bulky for ships. Extended charging times could be an obstacle for long-haul trucks, and some rail lines may be too expensive to electrify. Together, these vehicles represent roughly half of emissions from transportation, the fourth-biggest source of greenhouse gases.

To wean machines off oil, companies like Infinium, the owner of this plant, are starting to churn out hydrogen-based fuels that — in the best case — produce close to net zero emissions. They could also pave the way for a new technology, hydrogen fuel cells, to power planes, ships and trucks in the second half of this century. For now, these fuels are expensive and almost no one makes them, so the U.S. government, businesses and philanthropists including Bill Gates are investing billions of dollars to build up a hydrogen industry that could cut eventually some of the most stubborn, hard-to-remove carbon pollution.

Most scenarios for how the world could avoid the worst effects of climate change envision hydrogen cleaning up emissions in transportation, as well as in fertilizer production and steel and chemical refining.

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But if they’re not made with dedicated renewable energy, hydrogen-based fuels could generate even more pollution than regular diesel, creating a wasteful boondoggle that sets the world back in the fight against climate change. Their potential comes down to the way plants like this produce them.

Here’s what you need to make green hydrogen-based fuel:

List of what is needed to make fuel from water that includes water, electricity and carbon.

How water could be the future of fuel (8)

Water

Electricity

Carbon

How water could be the future of fuel (9)

Electricity

Water

Carbon

How water could be the future of fuel (10)

What you need

to make fuel

from water:

Here it all starts with water.

How water could be the future of fuel (11)

water.

Here it all starts with

How water could be the future of fuel (12)

water.

Here it all starts with

How water could be the future of fuel (13)

water.

Here it all starts with

How water could be the future of fuel (14)

water.

Here it all starts with

How water could be the future of fuel (15)

water.

Here it all starts with

How water could be the future of fuel (16)

water.

Here it all starts with

How water could be the future of fuel (17)

water.

Here it all starts with

The first step to make green hydrogen is opening the tap. Infinium makes hydrogen by splitting water molecules.

It’s not an entirely new idea: Scientists discovered how to do this in the 18th century. By 1900, there were 400 industrial machines turning water into hydrogen to make fertilizer – but companies abandoned almost all of them when they discovered how to cheaply extract the gas from fossil fuels. It’s now about three times cheaper to make hydrogen from fossil fuels than water.

You take natural gas (CH4) and heat it up to separate it into carbon and hydrogen. Those leftover carbon atoms combine with oxygen to create carbon dioxide (CO2), which vents into the atmosphere. But to make green hydrogen, you take hydrogen (H2) from water (H2O) and all you have left is pure oxygen.

How water could be the future of fuel (18)

This is a simplified representation of the way most hydrogen is

produced now:

You take natural gas …

… and heat it up to separate

it into carbon and hydrogen.

Those leftover carbon atoms

combine with oxygen to create carbon dioxide, which vents into the atmosphere.

But to make green hydrogen, you take hydrogen from water and all you have left is pure oxygen.

How water could be the future of fuel (19)

This is a simplified representation of the way most hydrogen is produced now:

You take natural gas …

… and heat it up to separate it into carbon

and hydrogen.

Those leftover carbon atoms combine with oxygen to create carbon dioxide, which vents into the atmosphere.

But to make green hydrogen, you take

hydrogen from water and all you have left is pure oxygen.

How water could be the future of fuel (20)

This is a simplified representation of the way most hydrogen is produced now:

You take natural gas …

… and heat it up to separate it into carbon and hydrogen.

Those leftover carbon atoms combine with oxygen to create carbon dioxide, which vents into the atmosphere.

But to make green hydrogen, you take hydrogen from water and all you have left is pure oxygen.

How water could be the future of fuel (21)

This is a simplified representation of the way most

hydrogen is produced now:

You take natural gas …

… and heat it up to separate it into carbon and

hydrogen.

Those leftover carbon atoms combine with oxygen

to create carbon dioxide, which vents into the

atmosphere.

But to make green hydrogen, you take hydrogen from water and all you have left is pure oxygen.

How water could be the future of fuel (22)

This is a simplified representation of the way most hydrogen is

produced now:

You take natural gas …

… and heat it up to separate it into carbon and hydrogen.

Those leftover carbon atoms combine with oxygen to create carbon dioxide, which vents into the atmosphere.

But to make green hydrogen, you take hydrogen from water and all you have left is pure oxygen.

Why use hydrogen as a fuel?

It’s the most abundant element in the universe and its molecules store a lot of energy. It takes a lot of energy to bind two hydrogen atoms into a molecule — and once they’re connected, the bond is very unstable. The hydrogen atoms are itching to break apart and release all their energy the moment there’s enough heat and oxygen to kick off a chemical reaction.

That’s a useful property inside an internal combustion engine, which uses tiny explosions to turn a crank that spins the wheels of a truck or the propeller of a boat.

Green hydrogen could also cut carbon pollution beyond transportation, as an ingredient in fertilizers or to refine steel, chemicals and oil. Today, making hydrogen out of fossil fuels for those industries generates 2 percent of global carbon emissions. Overall, plants that make hydrogen out of water — or make it out of fossil fuels and capture carbon — could cut 4 percent of global carbon emissions by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency, an advisory group that represents 44 countries.

To make transportation fuel, Infinium plant operators first pull the hydrogen out of water.

This transformation happens in a nondescript beige container at the center of the plant. Inside is an electrolyzer.

Image showing the electrolyzer, which is a beige-colored metal container.

How water could be the future of fuel (23)

Electrolyzer

How water could be the future of fuel (24)

Electrolyzer

How water could be the future of fuel (25)

Electrolyzer

How water could be the future of fuel (26)

Electrolyzer

How water could be the future of fuel (27)

Electrolyzer

How water could be the future of fuel (28)

Electrolyzer

How water could be the future of fuel (29)

Electrolyzer

Diagram of how the electrolyzer works. The steps are as follows: 1. Water is piped in, cooled and filtered. 2. An electric current breaks water molecules. 3. A filter separates the hydrogen from the oxygen. 4. Infinium keeps the hydrogen and vents the oxygen into the atmosphere.

How water could be the future of fuel (30)

1. Water is piped in, cooled and filtered.

2. An electric current breaks water molecules.

3. A filter

separates the

hydrogen from

the oxygen.

4. Infinium keeps the hydrogen and vents the oxygen into the atmosphere.

How water could be the future of fuel (31)

1. Water is piped in, cooled and filtered.

2. An electric current breaks water molecules.

3. A filter

separates the

hydrogen from

the oxygen.

4. Infinium keeps the hydrogen and vents the oxygen into the atmosphere.

How water could be the future of fuel (32)

4. Infinium keeps the hydrogen and vents the oxygen into the atmosphere.

1. Water is piped in, cooled and filtered.

2. An electric current breaks water molecules.

3. A filter separates the hydrogen from the oxygen.

How water could be the future of fuel (33)

4. Infinium keeps the hydrogen and vents the oxygen into the atmosphere.

1. Water is piped in, cooled and filtered.

2. An electric current breaks water molecules.

3. A filter separates the hydrogen from the oxygen.

How water could be the future of fuel (34)

1. Water is piped in, cooled and filtered.

2. An electric current breaks water molecules.

3. A filter separates the hydrogen from the oxygen.

4. Infinium keeps the hydrogen and vents the oxygen into the atmosphere.

How water could be the future of fuel (35)

1. Water is piped in, cooled and filtered.

2. An electric current breaks water molecules.

3. A filter separates the hydrogen from the oxygen.

4. Infinium keeps the hydrogen and vents the oxygen into the atmosphere.

How water could be the future of fuel (36)

1. Water is piped in, cooled and filtered.

4. Infinium keeps the hydrogen and vents the oxygen into the atmosphere.

2. An electric current breaks water molecules.

3. A filter separates the hydrogen from the oxygen.

The two electrolyzers here are rare specimens outside of research labs and small-scale pilot projects. Manufacturers are still perfecting the machines’ designs and they’re just starting to build big factories that can turn out lots of electrolyzers at low cost.

David Eaglesham, who co-founded the billion-dollar electrolyzer startup Electric Hydrogen, imagines a world where companies can buy electrolyzers off the shelf and run them in plants that produce tens of thousands of tons of hydrogen a year. That’s still years away as companies like his start to open factories.

But cheap electrolyzers alone aren’t enough to produce the amount of green hydrogen needed to fuel heavy transportation. “If the [electrolyzer] stack was free, you wouldn’t solve the problem,” Eaglesham said. It takes a lot of energy to split water molecules and force the hydrogen atoms to bond with one another.

Electricity

How water could be the future of fuel (37)

Water

Electricity

How water could be the future of fuel (38)

Water

Electricity

How water could be the future of fuel (39)

Water

Electricity

The other all-important ingredient to make green hydrogen is cheap, green energy. Without a massive amount of renewable electricity, clean hydrogen-based fuels are a fantasy.

On the horizon surrounding the Infinium plant, renewable electricity is starting to materialize in the shape of towering wind turbines. They’re part of one of the fastest-growing networks of wind and solar power in the United States.

Image of power lines at the Infinium plant. In the background, nearby wind turbines that feed the Texas grid, which powers the plant, are visible.

How water could be the future of fuel (41)

Nearby wind turbines feed the

Texas grid, which powers the plant.

How water could be the future of fuel (42)

Nearby wind turbines feed the

Texas grid, which powers the plant.

How water could be the future of fuel (43)

Nearby wind turbines

feed the Texas grid,

which powers the plant.

How water could be the future of fuel (44)

Nearby wind turbines

feed the Texas grid,

which powers the plant.

How water could be the future of fuel (45)

Nearby wind turbines feed the

Texas grid, which powers the plant.

How water could be the future of fuel (46)

Nearby wind turbines feed the

Texas grid, which powers the plant.

How water could be the future of fuel (47)

Nearby wind turbines

feed the Texas grid,

which powers the plant.

But even here, only about 40 percent of the power on the electric grid is from renewables, with the rest coming from natural gas and coal, according to state data. That grid energy is what flows through the power line into the Infinium plant.

The danger of using grid power for hydrogen production is that, across the United States, just like in Texas, 60 percent of that energy comes from fossil fuels. Making hydrogen from electricity that dirty is worse than simply making it from fossil fuels, according to an April 2023 analysis from Energy Innovation, a clean energy think tank.

Experts say that for green hydrogen to be truly clean, it has to be made at a plant hooked up to its own dedicated wind turbines and solar panels, or follow strict rules for using newly added renewable electricity from the grid. Federal officials are setting clean power rules that will decide which hydrogen plants qualify for billions of dollars in tax credits.

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The stakes are high: If the rules are too lax, the government could subsidize hydrogen production that adds as much as 60 million extra tons of carbon to the atmosphere each year, according to an Energy Innovation analysis published in February.

“Unless those Treasury rules are strict and rigorous … then we’re going to be in a very perverse place of paying hundreds of billions of dollars of public money to increase emissions from hydrogen production,” said Rachel Fakhry, policy director for emerging technologies at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The Infinium plant follows the rules regulators have proposed so far, and CEO Robert Schuetzle says the plant will make any changes necessary to follow the final rules. For now, the company says it pays extra to certify that, over the course of each year, recently built wind turbines and solar panels produce as much electricity as the plant uses.

Carbon

How water could be the future of fuel (48)

Water

Electricity

Carbon

How water could be the future of fuel (49)

Water

Electricity

Carbon

How water could be the future of fuel (50)

Water

Electricity

Carbon

How water could be the future of fuel (51)

Water

Electricity

Carbon

Once they separate hydrogen from water, plant operators still need to put it through one last step before the fuel they produce can be pumped into a vehicle’s tank. They mix it with carbon.

Most vehicles today can’t handle pure hydrogen, and neither can the network of fueling stations for planes, ships and trucks.

Hydrogen is the least dense substance in the universe. It’s so light that if you released it into the air it would float into space. To store it and use it, you have to cool it below -253 degrees Celsius and compress it until the air pressure is several hundred times higher than our atmosphere. Even then, it takes up much more space than other fuels, which makes it expensive to transport on ships and trucks. The best way to move it is by pipeline, and hundreds of miles of hydrogen pipelines already exist in Texas, but expanding that network will be time-consuming and costly.

One day, heavy transportation may shift to fuel cells that run on pure hydrogen and emit only water vapor from their tailpipes. But planes, ships and trucks have decades-long lifespans, meaning every vehicle built to use fossil fuels is likely to keep running for a long time.

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So for now, carbon remains a necessary ingredient in hydrogen-based fuels, which still release CO2 from the tailpipes of vehicles that burn them.

Infinium produces chemical copies of existing fuels made with crude oil — which are all some combination of hydrogen and carbon. Diesel, for example, is C12H23. Instead of rearranging the molecules in crude oil (CxHy into C12H23), Infinium makes its fuel by combining captured carbon with green hydrogen.

How water could be the future of fuel (52)

Infinium produces chemical copies of existing fuels made with crude oil — which are all some combination of hydrogen and carbon.

Diesel, for example, is

.

Instead of rearranging the

molecules in crude oil ...

... Infinium makes its fuel by

combining captured carbon

with green hydrogen.

How water could be the future of fuel (53)

Infinium produces chemical copies of

existing fuels made with crude oil — which are all some combination of hydrogen and carbon.

Diesel, for example, is

.

Instead of rearranging the molecules in crude oil ...

... Infinium makes its fuel by combining

captured carbon with green hydrogen.

How water could be the future of fuel (54)

Infinium produces chemical copies of existing fuels made with crude oil — which are all some combination of hydrogen and carbon.

.

Diesel, for example, is

Instead of rearranging the molecules in crude oil ...

... Infinium makes its fuel by combining captured carbon

with green hydrogen.

How water could be the future of fuel (55)

Infinium produces chemical copies of existing fuels made with crude oil — which are all some combination of hydrogen and carbon.

Diesel, for example, is

.

Instead of rearranging the molecules in crude oil ...

... Infinium makes its fuel by combining captured carbon with green hydrogen.

How water could be the future of fuel (56)

Infinium produces chemical copies of existing fuels made with crude oil — which are all some combination of hydrogen and carbon.

Diesel, for example, is

.

Instead of rearranging the molecules in crude oil ...

... Infinium makes its fuel by combining captured carbon with

green hydrogen.

Those carbon atoms arrive at the plant in the form of carbon dioxide pumped in from six nearby oil refineries. Typically, those facilities would let that CO2 — released when distilling crude oil into gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and other products — waft into the air.

Image of pipes at the Infinium plant. One pipe is annotated as the one that carries in carbon dioxide from nearby refineries. Another of the pipes is marked as the one that brings water in.

How water could be the future of fuel (57)

Pipes carry in water

and carbon dioxide

from nearby refineries.

Carbon dioxide

Water

How water could be the future of fuel (58)

Pipes carry in water and carbon

dioxide from nearby refineries.

Carbon dioxide

Water

How water could be the future of fuel (59)

Pipes carry in water and carbon

dioxide from nearby refineries.

Carbon dioxide

Water

How water could be the future of fuel (60)

Pipes carry in water and carbon

dioxide from nearby refineries.

Carbon dioxide

Water

How water could be the future of fuel (61)

Pipes carry in water and carbon

dioxide from nearby refineries.

Carbon dioxide

Water

How water could be the future of fuel (62)

Pipes carry in water and carbon

dioxide from nearby refineries.

Water

Carbon dioxide

How water could be the future of fuel (63)

Pipes carry in water and carbon

dioxide from nearby refineries.

Carbon dioxide

Water

Instead, Infinium combines that CO2 with hydrogen in a series of steel tanks that heat the gases, cool them, change their pressure, and set off a chain of chemical reactions that turns them into a mixture of diesel and naphtha, which is used in making plastic.

Three images from the Infinium plant. The first image shows two towers, one of which is where CO2 gets mixed with hydrogen and the other is where that mix that mix gets transformed into diesel. In the second image, there is a row of storage tanks where the fuel is kept. The third image is of a blue truck with Infinium's logo that carries the fuel out of the plant.

How water could be the future of fuel (64)

CO2 gets

mixed with

hydrogen ...

... that mix gets

transformed

into diesel.

The final fuel gets

stored in tanks ...

... and transported

out of the plant

in trucks.

How water could be the future of fuel (65)

CO2 gets mixed

with hydrogen ...

... that mix gets

transformed

into diesel.

The final fuel gets

stored in tanks ...

... and transported

out of the plant

in trucks.

How water could be the future of fuel (66)

CO2 gets mixed

with hydrogen ...

... that mix gets

transformed

into diesel.

The final fuel gets

stored in tanks ...

... and transported

out of the plant

in trucks.

How water could be the future of fuel (67)

CO2 gets mixed

with hydrogen ...

... that mix gets

transformed

into diesel.

The final fuel gets

stored in tanks ...

... and transported

out of the plant

in trucks.

How water could be the future of fuel (68)

... that mix gets

transformed

into diesel.

CO2 gets mixed

with hydrogen ...

The final fuel gets

stored in tanks ...

... and transported

out of the plant

in trucks.

How water could be the future of fuel (69)

... that mix gets

transformed

into diesel.

CO2 gets mixed

with hydrogen ...

The final fuel gets

stored in tanks ...

... and transported

out of the plant

in trucks.

How water could be the future of fuel (70)

CO2 gets mixed

with hydrogen ...

... that mix gets

transformed

into diesel.

The final fuel gets

stored in tanks ...

... and transported

out of the plant

in trucks.

Infinium won’t say how much it charges, but a 2022 study from Ford and researchers in Sweden and Denmark suggests this kind of diesel could cost around $9 per gallon to produce, more than double current U.S. prices. The diesel goes to clients such as Amazon, which will use it to fuel trucks carrying packages on long-haul routes across the country. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) Factories elsewhere will turn the naphtha into household goods.

Infinium’s fuel is chemically identical to regular diesel made from oil. When a truck driver steps on the accelerator, this hydrogen-based fuel will release just as much carbon dioxide from the tailpipe.

But proponents say there’s a key difference: Burning fuel made from oil takes carbon that had been stored underground for millions of years and releases it into the atmosphere.

On the other hand, capturing carbon from the air or factory smokestacks, turning it into fuel and then releasing it again recycles carbon that was already floating around. It doesn’t put any new carbon into the atmosphere.

A truck running on diesel made from hydrogen using only renewable electricity would create 89 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions over the course of its lifetime than a truck burning diesel made from petroleum, according to a 2022 analysis from the European nonprofit Transport & Environment.

Today, the Infinium plant is a blip of green fuel production among the miles of oil and gas refineries that sprawl along the coast near the Port of Corpus Christi. To avoid climate disaster, those fossil fuel facilities would have to be replaced by wind turbines, solar panels, biofuel refineries and plants such as this one, which turn water — not oil — into fuel.

About this story

We spoke to more than 20 experts — scientists, hydrogen producers, electrolyzer manufacturers, fossil fuel executives, energy analysts and climate watchdogs — about the state of the hydrogen industry and its carbon-cutting potential.

José Miguel Bermúdez Menéndez, a hydrogen analyst at the International Energy Agency; Martin Tengler, head of hydrogen research at BloombergNEF; and Nikita Pavlenko, who heads the fuels program at the International Council on Clean Transportation, walked us through the models that predict hydrogen’s role in avoiding the worst effects of climate change. Dan Esposito, the manager for electricity policy at Energy Innovation, explained how electricity regulations will determine whether hydrogen becomes a climate solution or a climate problem. Mijndert Van der Spek, an associate professor of chemical engineering at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, broke down the emissions differences between making hydrogen from water vs. fossil fuels. Our illustrations of the chemical processes behind hydrogen production were informed by Naomi Boness, co-managing director of the Stanford Hydrogen Initiative. All the illustrations are simplified representations of the chemical processes described.

How water could be the future of fuel (2024)

FAQs

How water could be the future of fuel? ›

Each water molecule comprises an oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen atoms are extracted and then can be reunited to create highly flammable hydrogen gas or combined with CO2 to create hydrocarbon fuels, creating a plentiful and renewable energy source.

Can water be used as fuel in the future? ›

This abundant matter could very well be extremely important in humanity's quest to build a future with little or no use of fossil fuels. Using electricity from windmills (or solar panels), water can be split into oxygen and hydrogen – and the latter used as an extremely clean and versatile fuel.

Is it possible to turn water into fuel? ›

Water can be separated into oxygen and hydrogen through a process called electrolysis. Electrolytic processes take place in an electrolyzer, which functions much like a fuel cell in reverse—instead of using the energy of a hydrogen molecule, like a fuel cell does, an electrolyzer creates hydrogen from water molecules.

Can water be used as a fuel source? ›

Water cannot be used as fuel in its pure form. However, water can be a source of hydrogen, which can be used as a fuel. This can be done through a process called electrolysis, where an electric current is passed through water, thereby splitting it into hydrogen and oxygen.

What will happen if there is water in the fuel? ›

However, several telltale signs can indicate the presence of water in your fuel system. One common symptom is poor engine performance, such as rough idling, stalling, or difficulty starting the engine. Water in the gas tank can disrupt the combustion process and prevent the engine from running smoothly.

Why can't we use water as fuel? ›

It would need equipment to split a water molecule apart and separate its oxygen and hydrogen. Then it would need to isolate each of them in separate tanks. Then you would need a combustion system that could mix and ignite them, or a fuel cell that could recombine them to make electricity.

Can water be an alternative fuel? ›

In summary, while water cannot be used as a fuel directly, the hydrogen that can be extracted from it can be used as a clean alternative to traditional fossil fuels.

Is there a generator that runs on water? ›

Jack Rabbit turbine -- a drop-in-the-creek turbine that can generate power from a stream with as little as 13 inches of water and no head. Output from the Jack Rabbit is a maximum of 100 Watts, so daily output averages 1.5–2.4 kilowatt-hours, depending on your site.

Can water ever be a gas? ›

If we were to boil water in its liquid state, it evaporates, where it becomes a gas. This process can also be reversed, where the gas condenses back into liquid form.

Can gasoline be put out with water? ›

​ Gas Fire

Fires caused by natural gas, kerosene, propane or gasoline are categorized as Class B fires. These types of fires are caused by flammable liquids and best extinguished by smothering. Do not use water to put out a gas fire. It will only make the situation worse.

Is there an engine that runs on water? ›

There have been a number of hoaxes, claiming the invention of water-powered engines. No water powered engine has successfully been invented to the point of getting a patent.

Can water be a fuel for fire? ›

You can't burn pure water, which is why we use it to put out fires instead of starting them. You can, however, break it down into hydrogen and oxygen by putting energy into it, in the form of an electric current.

What does water in fuel feel like? ›

Difficulty Starting and Power Decrease.

A common symptom of water in the gas tank is poor engine performance. It might include rough idling, stalling, or difficulty starting the engine. Water disrupts the combustion process, making it hard for the engine to run smoothly.

Will water in gas ruin an engine? ›

Long-Term Issues with Water in Your Gas Tank

Water can cause corrosion inside your fuel system and injectors and keep them from monitoring your fuel delivery rate properly. If left long enough, your injectors can eventually fail altogether, meaning your car won't start at all. This, obviously, is bad news.

What will occur if water is added to gasoline? ›

Filling up with gasoline that's mixed with water can result in engine performance problems, such as rough running and stalling. What's more, the contamination can eventually cause costly fuel system components to corrode and fail.

What kind of fuel will be used in the future? ›

Among the leading contenders are biofuels -- renewable, clean-burning fuels made from plant- and animal-based source materials like corn, soybeans, discarded vegetable oil or animal fat. We hear a lot about biofuels and fossil fuels in the news, but sometimes the two terms can get tangled in our minds.

Will water run out in the future? ›

While our planet as a whole may never run out of water, it's important to remember that clean freshwater is not always available where and when humans need it. In fact, half of the world's freshwater can be found in only six countries. More than a billion people live without enough safe, clean water.

What is the future of water use? ›

Global water use is likely to increase by 20 to 50 percent above current levels by 2050, with industrial and domestic sectors growing at the fastest pace. Agriculture will remain the largest overall consumer of water, but the relative increase to 2050 is likely to be smaller than other sectors.

When can water become a gas? ›

Similarly, if we heat a volume of water above 100 degrees Celsius, or 212 degrees Fahrenheit, water changes its phase into a gas called water vapor.

References

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