The Car That Runs on Sea Water – The nanoFLOWCELL Quant-E

Few Tech Metals Insider articles prompted as much reader feedback as our report on the Quant-E, a car produced by Nano-Flowcell AG of Liechtenstein. Back in March of this year, at the Geneva Auto Salon, its creators claimed the car used nothing but an electrolyte resembling sea water to operate. Since so many of you are still asking how the story evolved, here is a follow-up.

The “QUANT  e-Sportslimousine” did in fact receive the German authority’s approval for road testing this summer.   This would confirm the maker’s claims to have developed a roadworthy version of their prototype, although the company has yet to allow the public an under-the-hood view of their car allowing us to actually see and study its power plant. In their press release, NFC state that the vehicle’s homologation was subject to meeting crash and emission standards – it is not an attest to the actual engine used.

“The car is currently in Weissach near Stuttgart [Germany]” said La Vecchia, the company’s Chief Technical Officer in a published statement. “There we are working on two further prototypes of the QUANT e-Sportslimousine with nanoFLOWCELL® technology in partnership with Bosch Engineering, PROCEDA and a number of other companies.” His goal still is to have the car ready for series production this year.

Given the exotic nature of the car, its presumably high price, and the lack of a refueling infrastructure, it begs the question where the company is headed. La Vecchia gives us clues: “With our innovative ideas and new approaches we aim to show that as an energy source the nanoFLOWCELL® is much more than simply an alternative fully-electric drive system for vehicles. Not only because it is low-cost and environmentally friendly, but also because its possible applications are not restricted to the automobile. The nanoFLOWCELL® also represents a very promising alternative form of energy supply for houses, ships, aircraft and trains.”

The QUANT e-Sportslimousine, therefore, is to be seen as the focal point of a technology, not as the launch of another car manufacturer. The technology employed, if it will in fact work, would allow for decentralized generation and storage of energy, low cost production, sustainability and environmentally friendly disposal, according to it makers. A promise we will continue to monitor as it unfolds.

kitco