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Use coffee as car fuel

Published: 2026-04-27 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/04/27, I have to say that foreigners are really very creative, not only using cola bottles and tomato skins to build cars, but also want to use coffee as car fuel. Whether these ideas are practical or not, it shows people's demand for energy efficiency in cars.

I have to say that foreigners are really very creative, not only using cola bottles and tomato skins to build cars, but also want to use coffee as car fuel. Whether these ideas are practical or not, it shows people's demand for energy efficiency in cars.

In fact, some people have used coffee to drive cars earlier, such as the Ford P100 SUV, which is powered by coffee and has a top speed of 105.4 kilometers per hour. The sugar produced by the coffee beans when heated is broken down into carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which is cooled and filtered, and the remaining hydrogen is poured into the internal combustion engine. This method is called "gasification".

Another coffee-powered car is based on the 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco modified "Car-pucciono", the principle is similar.

Recently, researchers at the University of Bath in the UK have discovered a new way to turn coffee into fuel. It is described in the study that coffee residue can be turned into biodiesel. The step is to extract the oil from the coffee residue or fiber and soak it in an organic solvent, a process called ester transfer (transesterification). About 2 litres of biofuels can be extracted from about 10 kilograms of coffee residue. As a result, many coffee houses can rely on the residue from making coffee to drive their takeout vans, or work with local fuel companies to recycle the residue and refine it into biodiesel.

Studies have shown that all types of coffee can be refined into biodiesel, including decaf. Compared with the method of making fuel from other crops, the use of coffee residue does not require special preparation of raw materials.

FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou China, selling freshly roasted beans from its own farm in Yunnan as well as dozens of carefully selected single-origin beans from around the world for both pour-over and espresso. The products deliver consistently excellent quality and great value, with shipping within 24 hours. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers, and the beans are now available online at the Tmall 。