This Toyota Prius Runs on Petrol or Sugarcane Extracts

With manufacturers the world over seeking greener alternatives and governments championing better environmental policies, automakers are looking at every alternative for greener and leaner vehicles. The Toyota Prius was the catalyst that sparked the ongoing pursuit toward cleaner emissions and much higher expectations for fuel economy today. It is apt that it was the Prius that Toyota recently developed a modified version of, which can run on petrol or ethanol, a sugarcane extract. 

Mind you, this prototype is for the Brazilian market, a country which is the world’s second largest producer of ethanol. This chemical compound is created using biomass produced from fermenting sugar cane; because of its widespread availability and lower running costs, Toyota hopes to drastically reduce the South American nation’s total CO2 levels and at the same time capitalize on the Prius’ popularity. 

The Prius Hybrid Flexible-Fuel Vehicle (FFV) prototype, developed with the support of the São Paulo state government, is designed to highlight a way to reduce CO2 emissions in Brazil by 90% by 2050, compared to 2010 levels. 

Toyota claims that by using E100 ethanol, which is 100% renewable, with the standard Prius hybrid powertrain, the vehicle is significantly more environmentally friendly than a regular petrol-electric hybrid powertrain.

E10 petrol—a mix of 90% petrol and 10% ethanol—is widely used in the US and runs in standard vehicle engines.

Read our previous article on greener alternatives.