Conventional gasoline-powered cars have been around for a long time, and electric-powered cars emerged in the 21st century. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are still in the testing phase. However, what if the automotive industry advanced beyond our wildest imagination with something like Volcano Fuel, also known as Vulcanol?

Overview

There is nothing ordinary about a Koenigsegg hypercar, not even the fuel. The innovative scientists at the boutique Swedish brand have recently begun testing a novel type of biofuel derived from semi-active volcanoes, aiming to produce carbon-neutral automobiles.

Christian von Koenigsegg, the company’s founder and CEO, is at the forefront of this ambitious initiative. The 48-year-old recently announced plans to increase production from around 35 automobiles annually to a few thousand, all while minimizing environmental impact. He also intends to double the size of the factory within the next two to three years. In addition to these plans, the automaker is leading advancements in green technologies to transform the auto industry.

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Evan Horetsky, a former Tesla executive who managed the construction of the company’s Gigafactories in Reno, Nevada, and Shanghai, has joined Koenigsegg to support a large-scale project. As the chief industrialization officer, Horetsky is responsible for reducing the company’s carbon footprint and promoting the use of its environmentally friendly technologies across a wider range of drivetrains and vehicles.

Progress

To power its extreme combustion engines and create environmentally “benign” or potentially carbon-neutral vehicles, the brand is exploring new renewable fuels. This approach, which originated in Iceland, involves converting CO2 emissions from semi-active volcanoes into methanol. Known as vulcanol, this fuel emits 90% less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels and can be used not only in Koenigsegg’s vehicles but also in supply chains and industrial processes.

Exclusive Koenigsegg’s Logic

“You can achieve completely CO2-neutral fuel for the vehicle by using methanol to power the plants that convert various fuels, and then using that energy to power the ships that transport these fuels to Europe, the US, or Asia,” explains Christian von Koenigsegg, the Founder and CEO of Koenigsegg.

According to him, the company is “platform agnostic” and will integrate different technologies based on what makes the most sense for each model and situation. The new Koenigsegg Gemera, a hypercar showcased in the pictures (hypercar shown in pictures 2 and 3), is equipped with a 2.0-liter inline-three turbocharged engine capable of running on E85, gasoline, or Vulcanol. Additionally, it features three electric motors. How cool is that?

Christian von Koenigsegg also states, “You don’t have to pollute the planet just because you want a fast and interesting sports car.”

Conclusion

In the hypothetical scenario where Koenigsegg successfully develops Vulcanol for use in cars, it is important to note that it will likely be expensive. If Vulcanol becomes available, it will probably only be found in Koenigsegg vehicles. This situation is similar to many Tesla models today, which typically start at around $40,000 and up. However, the key difference is that a Koenigsegg could cost a minimum of $1.7 million. Innovations of this caliber are not easy to obtain, right?