Volvo's Clean, Green Multi-Fuel

Now here's a flexible fuel vehicle. The Volvo Multi-Fuel prototype, recently unveiled at this year's Michelin Challenge Bibendum, is designed to run on five different fuel types: hythane (a blend of 10 percent hydrogen and 90 percent methane), biomethane, compressed natural gas (CNG), E85 ethanol (85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline), and pure gasoline. Such fuel flexibility allows the Multi-Fuel to take advantage of whatever fuel type is available locally. Volvo believes such a vehicle will prove invaluable to drivers in the transition from today's conventional fuels to tomorrow's renewable fuels.

The Multi-Fuel contains one large and two smaller tanks totaling 26 gallons for gaseous fuels (hythane, biomethane, and CNG), and one eight gallon tank for liquid fuels (E85 and petrol), all of which are stored under the luggage compartment floor. There are two filler caps, one for gaseous fuel and another for liquid fuel. The driver simply presses a button to switch between the five fuel types, and the engine automatically adjusts to the right blend of gaseous and liquid fuel. The 2.0-liter, turbocharged, five-cylinder engine makes 200 horsepower, good for a sprint from zero to 62 mph in 8.7 seconds.

Befitting its green livery, the Multi-Fuel is also remarkably clean. It currently meets the emission standards for Euro 4 and the proposed levels for Euro 5. An alternative catalyst system has also been developed to meet the PZEV/SULEV tailpipe emissions standards in the U.S. market. The vehicle has two catalysts, one close coupled to the engine that lowers initial start emissions and one under the floor for reduced high-speed emissions, which work with the advanced engine control system to create very low emissions. High-temperature materials in the exhaust manifold and turbo allow extremely high exhaust gas temperatures of up to 1920 °F. This enables the car to run cleaner, accelerate quicker, and operate smoother at higher speed.