If you live in Brisbane’s south or west, every-time you flush the loo or use your shower and sink you will be helping drive Australia’s first poo-powered car.

The Mitsubishi electric vehicle will use the human waste gas from around 300,000 Brisbane residents across 40 suburbs.

Written by Annie Pullar

Produced for online by Kurravi Piggott

24 May, 2017

 

Queensland Urban Utility spokesperson Michelle Cullsays it is a win-win for the community and the treatment plant.

“The reason that we launched the poo car is that we want to take the poo car out into the community and let people know what we are doing with their waste,” Ms Cull says.

“We’re not only running this car, we are also powering up to 50 per cent of the treatment plants electricity needs.”

The electricity used to charge the ‘stink car’ is produced at the treatment plant in a process Ms Cull says is saving the company close to $2 million a year.

“It captures the biogas that’s produced from sewage sludge and uses that gas to drive an engine that creates electricity.”

RACQ technical director Steve Spalding says the technology offered a potential alternative to traditional fossil fuels.

“It shows that renewable energies can come in new and innovative ways, we cannot rely on fossil fuels forever,” Mr Spalding says.

Clean Energy Council media manager Mark Bretherton says the car is an innovate solution to flush away fossil fuels and move towards a much cleaner way of producing electricity.

But he says it will not be a quick solution.

“The transition period as we move from fossil fuels over to renewable energy needs a whole bunch of different ways of thinking,” Mr Bretherton says.

A new study published by Stanford University suggests fossil-fuelled cars will vanish within eight years.

However, Mr Spalding says the take-up of electric powered cars in Queensland is low, with only about 200 sold into the market.

“We need to help consumers to have the confidence to use them, to buy them and look at their affordability,” Mr Spalding says.

Regardless, Ms Cull says Queensland Urban Utilities is excited to be pioneers in poo power and has high hopes for the future.

The poo car will be on display at the Queensland Urban Utilities stand at Chermside this weekend.