The vehicle world keeps changing and improving every day. China and Geely (part of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group) presented a racing car with an engine that uses methanol. This is an alternative engine, yes, another one different from the electric car or the hydrogen engine.
Since the invention of internal combustion, gas and diesel have been ruling the streets. But when climate change started asking for help, new inventions came upfront to propose other solutions. The electric car arrived and, although it has taken a while to be accepted in the car community, is now used everywhere, including public transportation. Tesla helped a lot; it revolutionized the way we saw electric cars, showing people that EVs could be as fancy as any other combustion car (and even fancier). Toyota has been working for a while now with hydrogen, and it seems very promising.
Now, Geely is adding methanol to the picture: the technology will be tried out in competitions, then later combined with electricity so it can be used for a regular car.
What did Geely announced
Geely tried (even on snow) a racing car that works 100% with methanol (liquid fuel). This invention has an Aurobay engine (Aurobay-DHE20TDM) that uses M1000 fuel. But why is this important?
The vehicle has thermal efficiency, which transforms the fuel into energy over 46%. A very high percentage. The compression ratio is 15:1, and this technical data is what makes the car, a high quality performer. In addition, it meets the China VI emissions standards, which, for an alternative engine, is kind of the point.
Geely wants to race with a few of these cars in the Geely Super Cup PRO in 2026. And if it works well on track, then they could make a hybrid methanol-electric car for the daily roads.
Methanol vs. electric and hydrogen
The EV is still leading the green cars today. Why? Because they have been doing really well in car batteries, and Tesla has been a big push in the industry. Hydrogen is coming on strong now; companies like Toyota are betting strongly on it, because the outcome seems very promising. But there are not enough charging points or hydrogen stations to support the potential of it yet…
That’s where methanol comes in: it’s liquid and easy to transport. You can fill it up fast, like internal combustion models (gas or diesel engines), and it can be a solution while the electric and hydrogen infrastructure evolves. Because it is not about winning and making the other ones disappear, it’s about coexisting and giving more choices to people.
What’s coming up next for methanol cars?
The announcement is promising, but there are still some challenges:
- Most of the vehicles in the whole world are using internal combustion (gas or diesel engines).
- Infrastructure still has a long way to go for the new technologies.
- Some new models are very expensive.
To go forward with new inventions and new solutions, investment has to be done, fuel rules need to be clear, and charging and fuel stations need to spread all around.
It all starts by testing new possibilities
The company from the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is testing something different. I mean, who would’ve thought that a racing car could be fueled by methanol? And yet, there it is, soon competing.
Until now, the announcement is already promising, and they will probably do great and the race, but the goal is not “winning” against the electric vehicles or the hydrogen engine; the goal is to try it, and if it works, then to add it to the big picture of alternative engines. Giving more options to people.