Vancouver’s Steamworks Brewing Company to Fuel Electric Cars With Beer
British Columbia brewery to add two electric vehicles to its fleet, plans to sustainably power them through brewing process
By Alex St Cyr on Aug. 07, 2019
The environment is a hot topic these days, and companies are always looking for an edge when it comes to renewable resources and less reliance on fossil fuels – especially for our vehicles! So, what if part of beer’s brewing process could be used to sustainably power cars?
Vancouver’s Steamworks Brewing Company to Fuel Electric Cars With Beer
Wait, a Beer-Powered Car?
In another step towards sustainable transportation, Vancouver-based brewery, Steamworks Brewing Company, is working towards powering electric cars with its beer!
The Canadian brewery has now added two single-passenger SOLO electric vehicles to its vehicle supply, which will be adapted to be powered via particular brewing processes.
“Steamworks believes in practicing what it preaches,” reads a news release from the brewery.
Who is Making Beer Cars?
While the beer car innovation is based on Steamworks Brewing Company’s vision, the company responsible for the development of these vehicles is Electra Meccanica. A partner to Steamworks in the Vancouver area, Electra Meccanica is focused on bringing sustainable vehicles to market. Their flagship vehicle is the SOLO, a single person commuter vehicle, which can be reserved for $250 and start at $15,500!
“We ask people to buy local when it comes to beer, so why shouldn’t we when it comes to cars,” said Steamworks owner Eli Gershkovitch in an official company statement. “Our business takes us all over the Lower Mainland and 90 per cent of the time our trips are only with ourselves, so the use of a large vehicle isn’t always necessary.”
Can beer really power a vehicle? How is Beer Fuel Possible?
While current electric car owners rely on power from B.C. Hydro to fuel their electric-powered vehicles, Steamworks Brewing Company is installing a steam turbine at its brewery location, using steam already generated in the brewing process to power their new SOLO cars. Rather than allowing the energy used in the brewing process to go to waste, this technological innovation should inspire other companies to make the most of their environmental impacts.
“They will be modern steam cars, but until then good, clean B.C. Hydro will do the job,” said Gershkovitch.
If you want to learn more about the Electra Meccanica SOLO or reserve an electric (or soon to be beer powered) vehicle for yourself, click here.
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