nature’s first Green Fuel Is gold: A Car That Runs On Urine?

The concept of cars running on urine has been explored by several researchers, but it hasn’t yet resulted in a commercially viable vehicle. Here’s what happened with some of the key developments:

Ohio University Research (2009): Professor Gerardine Botte developed a catalyst that could extract hydrogen from urine more efficiently than from water. This technology showed promise for powering hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, but it hasn’t been implemented in commercial cars.

Electrolytic System: Botte’s team created an electrolytic system that could extract hydrogen from urea, the main component in urine. This process required less energy than extracting hydrogen from water, making it potentially more efficient.

Scaling Challenges: While the technology showed promise in laboratory settings, scaling it up for practical use in vehicles has faced challenges. The system would need to be integrated into cars and address issues like urine storage and processing.

Alternative Applications: Instead of directly powering cars with urine, some researchers have suggested using this technology for other purposes, such as treating wastewater while simultaneously producing hydrogen fuel.

Competing Technologies: The development of electric vehicles has outpaced hydrogen fuel cell technology in the automotive industry, making urine-powered cars less likely to become mainstream.

As of 2025, there are no commercially available cars that run directly on urine. The concept remains largely in the research and development phase, with no major automakers announcing plans to produce urine-powered vehicles.

This actually isn’t a new idea, but a Sardinian researcher named Franco Lisci has developed a way to get around the problems that prevented the use of urine as power until now. His environmentally friendly cars are supported by the University of Sassari and other observers, such as Legambiente — the Italian Environmentalist Association. Lisci created two types of engines: one for cars and one for domestic use, to power lights as well as water heaters, dishwashers and washing machines. Among many of his innovations, the formation of condensation and abundance of polluting particles has been avoided by using a special filter: pure sheep’s wool.

https://worldcrunch.com/tech-science/this-new-green-fuel-is-yellow-a-car-that-runs-on-urine

Using sheep’s wool in air filters is a real and innovative technology developed by companies like Lanaco. They have created high-performance filters using wool, which offer several advantages over traditional synthetic materials:

Biodegradability: Wool is naturally biodegradable, reducing environmental impact compared to synthetic fibers.

Fire Resistance: Wool filters are fire-resistant, making them suitable for critical applications like emergency life support systems in space missions.

Moisture Handling: Wool’s hydrophobic properties help manage moisture effectively, preventing clogging in humid environments.

Bacteriostatic Properties: Wool has natural resistance to bacterial growth, enhancing filter performance in various applications.

Lanaco’s wool-based filters have been recognized and used by NASA for their space missions, demonstrating their effectiveness in challenging environments. So, if someone mentions using sheep’s wool for filters, it’s likely referring to this genuine technological innovation.