Wind and solar have become popular forms of renewable energy for our power supply. Solar has also been used on cars and airplanes quite a bit, more so than wind. Still, over the years, there have been people who thought wind power could also be one of the solutions to the environmental problems linked to transportation.
Wind-powered vehicles are subject to relatively low forward resistance and are thus capable of speeds exceeding the winds. Some rotor-powered examples have demonstrated ground speeds over double that of the wind – both directly into and directly downwind the wind – by transferring power between the rotor and the wheels via a drive train. Rotor-powered vehicles are those that use rotors instead of sails. However, it’s a wind-powered vehicle with a sail on it (called Greenbird) that holds the record for top speed: 202.9 kilometers per hour (126.1 mph)!
Blackbird
The idea that a vehicle powered by wind force alone could go faster than the wind is controversial, and some may say it defies the laws of physics. So much so that physics professor Alexander Kusenko of the University of California bet YouTuber Derek Muller $10,000 that a car can’t travel faster than the wind propelling it. Muller, who runs the YouTube channel Veritasium, where he breaks down strange science concepts, made a video proving it could be done and won the bet.
In the interests of providing more data, I've uploaded the raw clip of the faster-than-the-wind run for @alexkusenko https://t.co/eUeoYSiDeI
Note: the filming team uses expletives towards the end because they don't think I'm going to slow down. Viewer discretion advised. pic.twitter.com/rv5p3e8oHJ
— Veritasium (@veritasium) June 21, 2021
Muller drove the car invented by aerodynamicist Rick Cavallaro known as “Blackbird.” It looks like a rickety one-seater F1 racer with a giant windmill attached to it. Its wheels power a turbine, and the propeller in the “windmill” spins backward, generating thrust. Moving downwind, the propeller spins faster and, therefore, so do the wheels, pushing the car more quickly than the wind speed.
Cavallaro explained:
The secret to Blackbird is that once the wind gets the vehicle going, its wheels start to turn the propeller blades — they’re connected to the blades by a chain. So as the car speeds up, its wheels turn the propeller faster and faster. The propeller blades, in turn, act as a fan, pushing more air behind the land yacht and thrusting it forward.
The vehicle attained a speed of 27.7 mph in a 10-mph tailwind.
Muller plans to give the bet money away as part of a science communication competition.
Chinook
Chinooks are powerful, moist winds that descend from the atmosphere and sweep Canada multiple times a year. They’re named after the native tribes who first described them. Chinooks is also the name of a group of innovative engineering students from Montreal who harness the power of the wind in their car designs. They strive to create innovative, sustainable solutions that may someday transform the way we travel and reduce the carbon footprint of personal vehicles.
Siméon Picard, one of the team members, is enchanted by the invisible forces that blow. Explaining the car they made, he said:
It’s really like a bicycle. The windmill is like the pedals.
The vehicle features a tube-like chassis that carries a massive windmill, which converts the wind motion into mechanical energy that powers the car.
The Chinooks travel to the Netherlands’ windy shore of the North Sea every year to compete in an annual competition known as the Racing Aeolus. The team won four first-place awards out of five in 2019 – for endurance, drag race, fastest race, and best overall. They also set a world record of 114.87% efficiency. The competition aims to achieve the greatest possible efficiency regarding the average speed ratio to wind speed.
We’ll probably never see wind-powered cars like Blackbird or Chinooks on the road since they’re limited by the direction the wind blows and are inconveniently large. Nevertheless, such designs could help in other ways, like by transforming wind turbine technology or even the way we recharge batteries. Chinooks have already been approached by the Netherlands Royal Navy concerning the technologies used on their vehicle.
Lotus Nemesis
The Lotus Nemesis, on the other hand, has potential for real-world application as a mode of personal transportation. It’s arguably the first official wind-powered car. It’s a hybrid that uses electric power and a turbine placed outside of the vehicle. The turbine produces wind power to help supply the car’s battery with energy, thus extending its range substantially. The battery needs a recharge only every two to three days!
A 55-year-old Chinese farmer named Tang Zhenping also invented a wind-powered electric car prototype in his small tractor workshop. It’s a one-seater car that features a turbine on its nose. When it reaches 40mph (64kph), the blades spin, generating pollution-free power and giving the vehicle triple the battery life of other’ electric cars.
The Ventomobile
While on the topic of firsts: the three-wheeled Ventomobile is the first wind-powered car powered only by the wind. It was made in 2008 by a group of German students. It features a two-meter wind turbine with two blades for extra power.
Formula Zero
Mercedes Benz has even joined the fun, debuting a prototype they call Formula Zero. It’s powered by four electric motors on each hub and the wind. The company aims to race it in a competition based on energy efficiency and utilizing natural resources.
In Conclusion
Wind-powered cars could become one of the carbon-free car choices in the future. Likely, they’ll be hybrids that use electric power as a backup source. Electric vehicles are already well established, and renewable energy has been advancing dramatically in recent years. So there’s no reason why cars equipped with wind turbines wouldn’t exist someday. A future where transportation runs only on renewable energy keeps looking better!
