WAVE 3 - Louisville, KYUofL Researcher Says Water Powered Cars Possible, But Impractical

UofL Researcher Says Water Powered Cars Possible, But Impractical

By Eric Flack 

(LOUISVILLE) -- As we first told you on WAVE 3 News, a Florida man hopes his invention could end your high gas bills forever. But is his "water car" realistic for widespread use? A University of Louisville researcher doesn't think so. WAVE 3 Investigator Eric Flack explains.

Denny Klein's water powered car wows just about everyone who travels to his Clearwater, Florida research lab to see it.

"You just drive it like a regular car," Klein told an economic development team during a demonstration last week. "The infrastructure is already in place to get it serviced, so we don't have to reinvent the wheel."

Sieglinde Kinne, an energy efficiency specialist at UofL, does not question whether the water car really works. She questions whether it makes sense for consumers to actually use it.

"I don't ever see hydrogen catching up with existing fuel storage technologies," she said.

Kinne says Klein's invention lacks real-world applications.

He takes water, H₂O, and turns it into hydrogen gas, or something he calls Aquagen.

A small amount is then injected into the fuel for up to a 50 percent increase in mileage. But Kinne says you use up more energy extracting hydrogen from water than you get back.

"The net energy proposition is a loser," she said.

Kinne says UofL has received a federal grant to research ways to extract hydrogen from water, using solar energy, which she says would be much more efficient.

But Kinne says that wouldn't work for Klein's car, because the solar panel would be bigger than the car.

But Klein's project manager, Stephen Lusko, says plenty of people believe in their work. NASA, Daimler Chrysler and Lockheed Martin are just some of the groups that have contacted them.

Online Reporter: Eric Flack

Online Producer: Michael Dever