The Oxen Report: A Special Investigation into the World of Alternative Fuels and Investing Opportunities, Part 2 - Water and Sun

Last week, we began an investigation into alternative fuels and their opportunities for cars and for investments. We covered the fuel cell and the biofuel made of whiskey. Today, we are delving into the world of water and sun. Can water actually power our favorite vehicles or the sun? We will attempt to uncover those answers.

To start the day, we take a look at water. Yes, the clear liquid that comes out of your sink, grows your grass, and makes up a significant amount of the human body could be an alternative fuel to gasoline. I originally got interested in water when I saw a Japanese car that was “supposedly” ran on water on YouTube! Yet, despite what seems to be out of mind outlandish, water actually holds some ground. One can actually run his/her car on water. It starts by using an electrolysis cell or water burner.

According to Popular Mechanics, “The key is to take electricity from the car’s electrical system to electrolyze water into a gaseous mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, often referred to as Brown’s Gas or HHO or oxyhydrogen. Typically, the mixture is in a ratio of 2:1 hydrogen atoms to oxygen atoms. This is then immediately piped into the intake manifold to replace some…expensive gasoline.”

Water has energy that can create power and can move a car. The issue with water is that it takes a 1:1 amount of energy to separate hydrogen and oxygen atoms inside of a electrolysis cell then put them back together. So, with heat losses, one is actually losing energy as they pump water into the car. So, water alone cannot fuel a car. There is some talk, however, that water when mixed with gasoline can cause gasoline to burn more efficiently by slight levels because it helps change combustion characteristics.

The only company that is truly behind water as a source is Genepax in Japan, but the company does not appear to be much of an answer to anything. The company has not been able to sustain any solid business and is privately traded. While there does appear to be some ground for energy for water, the technology is still in such a way that the energy used to break down water to get its energy is 1:1…the typical problem with the technology with all of our alternative fuels – it takes too much energy to break down alternative fuels.