Instead of banking on hydrogen, which Elon Musk describes as “stupid”, Tesla has just presented a Model Y equipped with a methanol engine

News JVTech Instead of banking on hydrogen, which Elon Musk describes as “stupid”, Tesla has just presented a Model Y equipped with a methanol engine

If certain car manufacturers like Toyota tend to favor hydrogen engines rather than electric models to offer cleaner vehicles, This is the kind of choice Elon Musk doesn't understand. From 2022, the boss of Tesla declared, during a conference dedicated to the cars of the future, that hydrogen is “the stupidest thing I can imagine for an energy storage system”.

“Hydrogen is a bad choice”

Presumably annoyed by the fact that everyone was asking him at the time what he thought of hydrogen as the fuel of the future, he responded bluntly: “It's important to understand that if you want a way to store energy, hydrogen is a poor choice. » For Musk, the fact that storing hydrogen requires “gigantic reservoirs” in liquid form, and even larger ones in its gaseous form, makes it a very bad strategic choice.

With this radical declaration, Elon Musk had therefore buried the hopes of those who imagined one day being able to benefit from a hybrid Tesla involving a hydrogen tank. But that does not mean that the prospect of one day seeing a Tesla that is not just electric is completely illusory.

A Tesla powered by methanol

To demonstrate that Tesla could design something other than electric vehicles, the company has teamed up with the Austrian firm Obrist to develop a Tesla Model Y equipped with a small battery and a methanol engine. Named Tesla Model Y Hyper-Hybrid, this car is only a prototype, and it is a fairly clear response to the statements of Elon Musk who considers that hydrogen is not a favorable choice for the future of the automobile, but also the planet.

Just like any hybrid car, The Tesla Model Y Hyper-Hybrid can run on its battery, but it is also able to draw from its methanol tank when it needs it. For the rest, it drives like a traditional Tesla model, and has the same functions.

Methanol, the fuel of the future?

It should also be noted that Obrist did not just transform a Tesla. The company has also designed its own fuel, called aFuel. This consists of synthetic methanol, designed at 10% with CO2 filtered in ambient air. “aFuel combines the production of eMethanol, the global liquid energy carrier, with a carbon sink process. Part of the CO2 is thus extracted from the carbon cycle and transformed into solid carbon, making aFuel® not only CO2 neutral, but even CO2 negative. A feat never achieved until now »explains the firm in particular on his website.

“aFuel is the most efficient energy carrier humanity can use to rid ourselves of fossil fuels forever, and it is 100% renewable”says Obrist. However, immediately, the company has not yet implemented the use of its ecological fuel either with Tesla or with other manufacturers. However, it could be an encouraging avenue for the future.