Zero-emission cars from Japan: What they mean for IT

What is cool without power?

Even the longest list of features that design engineers could come up with for computers and other IT devices and gadgets will not mean a thing unless scientists can develop a reliable and sustainable energy source. And I do not mean those coal-fired and other polluting and poison-spewing power plants.

Your iPhone, with its collection of smart features and applications, is just another polluting device, requiring environmentally costly power to run. Your favorite MP3 player and your computer will never earn you cookie points from Greenpeace and other pro-environment organizations.


All those cool and shiny IT toys, with their thirst for resource-depleting power, contribute to global warming.

Fortunately, the IT world may benefit from carmakers' efforts to come up with sustainable energy sources. In the future, IT toys and gadgets may be powered up by alternative power sources being developed today by car companies.

Fuel-Cell Cars

While the advent of affordable hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars might still be quite far in the future, quite a number of these non-polluting automobiles are already being driven by U.S. and Japanese customers. Car manufacturers, such as Honda, are pushing harder for cars that emit zero carbon dioxide and yet travel distances that can compare well with those of traditional automobiles.

Toyota, Nissan, and Mazda have their own respective fuel-cell car programs. Someday soon, these rivals' efforts are likely to produce environment-friendly cars priced at similar levels as those of their gas-guzzling cousins.

Japanese Solar Car Wins

A solar car designed and built by students from the Tokai University won the Global Green Challenge solar car racing event in Australia. The race across the Australian Outback is a yearly demonstration of the feasibility of and advances in solar car technology.

Racing teams field production and prototype solar cars that are, or will soon be, available in the general market. Winning the race represents some serious bragging rights for the Japanese solar car team, as well as pushes humanity toward cleaner energy.

Clean Power for IT

So what do cars with clean and sustainable power supply mean for the IT world?

Today, one of the main issues faced by the high-tech industry is energy for powering up computers, servers, mobile phones, and and all those other electronic gadgets and toys – and from where to source that energy.

Not from coal, petroleum, and any other fossil fuels – they all emit gases that poison our world. Those clean, sustainable energy technologies being developed today by engineers and scientists hold some promise.

Our only most earnest prayer is that they would come online before it gets too late.