Formula 1 teams are already preparing to introduce hybrid drive systems to cars beginning in 2009 and that could soon be followed by a change in fuels. Since the mid-nineties teams have been required to use fuels that were roughly comparable to pump gasoline with a maximum octane rating of 102 RON (about 97 octane for U.S. pump measurements). Formula may soon follow the path of IndyCars and the American Le Mans Series and migrate to biofuels, specifically ethanol. According to retired two-time champion Emerson Fittipaldi, Formula 1 management boss Bernie Eccelstone met last year with ethanol suppliers in Brazil. Brazilian Fittipaldi has a sugar cane plantation in his home country and is currently building an ethanol refinery to produce fuel.

All cars in the IndyCar series run on E100 ethanol. In the ALMS several teams including the GT1 Corvette C6Rs are now running cellulosic E85. The Audi R10s run on GTL diesel fuel while the rest of the field is fueled by E10.

[Source: F1-Live]

There have been many cases where racing technology has made its way down the ladder right into the cars that we use to drive to work. Flywheels could be the next such advancement. The pinnacle of racing motorsports, Formula 1, is investigating the possibility of using flywheels for energy storage. The idea is old, but recent advancements in low-mass high-strength materials may finally make flywheels a reality.

What's Number 6?

FIA President Max Mosely has sent a letter to Formula One teams outlining the plans for phasing in hybrid systems in the sport. Beginning in 2009, the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) will be integrated into the transmissions of F1 cars. The KERS is a mechanical system that captures kinetic energy during vehicle deceleration using a flywheel mechanism. Unlike production vehicle hybrids that convert kinetic energy to electrical energy and store it in a battery, the KERS is far more compact and lighter, adding only about 55lbs to the car. The amount of energy that can be stored is limited but for this type of application it is actually useful since the cars are constantly accelerating and decelerating from corner to corner.

The FIA will phase in the use of KERS over the next four years in conjunction with other changes to reduce the size and output of the engines. A selectable power boost button on the steering wheel will allow the drivers to decide when to use the stored energy for a quick boost in power. New rules that are expected to be enacted for 2013 will replace the current 2.4L V-8 engines with even smaller turbocharged engines.

[Source: F1-Live]

The German car magazine Auto, Motor and Sports reports Formula One racing will use hybrid cars by 2010. It seems FIA boss Max Mosley finally got a deal for the greener races. A lot of technology that we see in cars today was developed on the race track, and we can only imagine what this new F1 style might bring. The addition of hybrid technology to Formula One racing is further validation of the technology. We know that some of the fastest cars in the world are electric cars, so maybe it's just time for F1 to catch up.

Related:

• Could hybrid technology move into Formula 1?
• Information on the hybrid Formula 1 drivetrain from Torotrak and Xtrac
• Formula 1 will add green measures by 2009
• New hybrid transmission for Formula One cars revealed
• Formula One could have biofuel turbo V-6s in 2011

[Source: I4U]

We have often brought up the fact that the Formula 1 racing series, and their sanctioning body the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), would like to showcase improved efficiency and use technology that is more relevant to the cars that are actually driven on the street. Honda has taken the lead when it comes to portraying a green, environmentally friendly image, but it used to be commonplace for technologies derived through the rigors of racing to show up on street driven cars in a few years. This has not been happening lately, as the race cars look and perform less and less like their road-going counterparts. It looks like the tables could turn on the sport, with the race cars instead using technology developed for the road. Specifically we are talking about recapturing braking energy to be reused as motive force. This is a common component of the hybrid car. According to Max Mosely, president of the FIA, "We will make research work in F1 more road-relevant. We will move F1 from the technology of the 20th century to that of the 21st century, to move away from F1 being labeled as a dinosaur."

While I would certainly never label the F1 series a dinosaur when it comes to technology, it is a good sign that the governing body of the sport recognizes that the cars need to have some connection with ordinary cars. We could soon see the day when F1 technology is making another impact on road cars, as the system that is being designed for the race series is totally different than what is currently available in hybrids on the roadways today. The system is being jointly designed by Torotrak and Xtrac. Instead of capturing the braking force as electricity, the force instead will be stored in a rotating flywheel as kinetic energy. Also part of the design is a variator which will transfer the kinetic power of the flywheel to the transmission; the end result will be cars slinging quickly out of corners that they had just slowed down for.

While the thought of a flywheel spinning at super high speed sounds a little scary, at least they are not trying rubber bands!

Related:

• Could hybrid technology move into Formula 1?

[Source: Wards Auto]

For the past several years the governing body of Formula One racing has been pondering rule changes that would, among other things, make the sport more environmentally friendly. One of the proposals that has popped up several times is using hybrid drivetrains. Transmission builders Torotrak and Xtrac have agreed to a license agreement that will let Xtrac build continuously variable transmissions based on Torotraks design for Formula One hybrid drive systems.

Unlike the hybrid electric drive systems used in production cars, kinetic energy captured by the regenerative braking system wouldn't be stored in electro-chemical batteries. The proposed Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) would store energy in a mechanical flywheel system. The flywheel system would be lighter and able to capture more energy quickly making it better suited to the repeated deceleration rates of a race car.

[Source: Torotrak]

The sanctioning body for Formula One racing, the FIA, is currently examining options for new engine rules for 2011 and beyond. Over the past year they've been throwing out various proposals including hybrid powertrains. The latest proposal is a switch from the current 2.4L V-8 formula to 2.2L turbocharged V-6s.

The current engines have no rpm limit and many are thought to run at speeds approaching 20,000 rpm although the new proposal would limit that to 10,000 rpm. The new engines would also switch from running on 102 octane "gasoline" to some kind of biofuel. The FIA wants to reduce costs and make the engines more environmentally friendly. Since a switch to ethanol could end up with even more powerful engines due to the turbocharging, maybe they will make the jump to biodiesel instead. Formula One could have some very interesting times ahead.

[Source: F1-Live]

For the past several years the FIA has been struggling with the technical rules for Formula One racing, trying to cut speeds, and the enormous cost of competing in the sport. They have also been trying to find ways to make the sport relevant and incorporate technology that would actually benefit real cars. One of the ideas that has been floated is adding hybrid drive systems to F1 cars.

To that end, the FIA has hired Ricardo as a technical consultant to advise on future rules. In particular Ricardo will be focusing on ways to incorporate fuel saving and more environmentally-friendly technology into the new rules. Now that Audi and Peugeot have demonstrated beyond a doubt the performance potential of diesels, it would be cool to see F1 cars with a 2.5L V-6 diesel hybrid with some advanced lithium batteries and running on algae biodiesel.

[Source: F1-Live]

Click the photo for a high-res gallery of the 2007 Honda F1 car

With the Australian Formula One Grand Prix going over the weekend, all the crews were in Melbourne for the start of the 2007 F1 season including the Honda Racing F1 team which has "My Earth Dream" livery this year. In a move to offset their team's carbon footprint for the big race, drivers Jenson Button & Rubens Barrichello visited the Albert Park Primary School prior to the race and presented the school with eco-friendly fluorescent globes.

Over the course of one year, the more efficient fluorescent globes will save the school AUD$8,000 (US$6,362) off their electricity bill and 44.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions - more than five times the team's CO2 race footprint. The drivers also showed off the hydrogen-powered Honda FCX concept and their new F1 car in its earth livery.

Analysis: This is a fantastic idea by the Honda Racing F1 team and great PR to boot. It's amazing to think what a small change like replacing the lights in a primary school can have on emissions, because you're average F1 car is far from fuel efficient in gross usage.

Related:

• Is motorsport the "perfect" way to showcase green cars or is it a waste of fuel?
• Honda F1 confirms plan to promote environmental awareness with 2007 livery
• In the Books: Australian Formula One Grand Prix

[Source: Honda Racing press release]

A recent issue of Sports Illustrated examined how global warming is affecting sports and athletes. The TV show Living on Earth this week interviewed the story's co-author, David Epstein, and features a transcript on its website.

Some of the more obvious concerns involve heat exhaustion or Nordic skiers not having any snow. But Epstein also looked at auto racing and how the sport is changing.

"There's not a cohesive movement right now. Well in some sports there are. Let's say in some of the driving sports, which maybe can make a big difference. In the clean air act of 1970 which said, you know, new consumer cars would have to run on unleaded fuel, race cars were actually exempt so they don't have to comply with that. But NASCAR is now going to comply with it anyway and they're mixing in ethanol into their fuels. And Indy Car is going to 100 percent ethanol, and F-1 is introducing hybrids and ethanol, things like that. And obviously their emissions are a drop in the bucket but how far is it from a NASCAR driver to a NASCAR fan in terms of being conscious about ethanol," said Epstein.

He also pointed to athletes that are making environmentalism a personal issue, the way other athletes are philanthropic in their off-field activities. He noted that Steve Gleason of the New Orleans Saints drives a biodiesel truck and started a foundation called One Sweet World that's devoted to sustainability.

[Source: Steve Curwood/Living on Earth]

Click on the photo for a high-res gallery of the Honda F1 "Earth" livery

As was reported a couple of days ago, 2007 Honda RA107 Formula One cars will feature an Earth themed livery. Instead of being plastered with logos promoting corporate sponsors, the car will feature an image of our pale blue dot. According to Honda the theme is a call to action for people and companies to join their drive to address environmental issues. Borrowing from the idea of the Million Dollar Homepage, anyone who wants to pledge to make a lifestyle change to help the environment and donate to an environmental charity, can get their name on one or more of the individual pixels that make up the image of the earth that covers the car.

Honda has also launched a website called www.myearthdream.com where people can participate in the program along with major sponsors like Universal Music and Gatorade, that are supporting the program, but apparently will not get their logos slathered all over the car. Formula One racing in and of itself can definitely not be considered green, but since initially being involved in Formula One in the sixties Honda has always rotated engineers through their racing programs and then back to production programs where they can apply what they have learned. Although performance is obviously the preeminent goal in racing, one of the keys to reaching that within the restrictions imposed by the rules is to maximize efficiency in every area of the car. Honda's press release and a video is after the jump.



[Source: Honda]