Ford Motor Company has been involved in the development of alternative fuels since Henry Ford founded the company in 1901. Henry Ford was a conservationist who truly cared about the environment and the damage that emissions were causing. Ford’s efforts continued into the 20th century and he was able to produce his own brand of alternative fuel known as “Benzol” (Ford Corporate News Center, 2014). Other historical innovations of Henry Ford include the Fordson tractor that was capable of running on alcohol or today better known as ethanol, propane fueled trucks in the 1960s, and North America’s first hybrid car in the 1980s (Ford Corporate News Center, 2014). From the late 20th century and to the early 21st century, Ford sold more than ninety percent of the world’s alternative fuel …show more content…
Now the Ford Company sells alternative fuel vehicles that range from natural gas-powered to flexible-fuel vehicles, including some of the most popular Ford vehicles. The company stood out amongst its competitors when the Escape hybrid was introduced to the market in 2005 (Ford Corporate News Center, 2014). Releasing as close to zero emissions as possible the Ford Escape hybrid is powered by a combination of energy from a rechargeable battery and fuel. The duel energy sources greatly lowered the emissions produced by the hybrid cars. The Ford Company still continues their efforts to produce the most affordable, sustainable, and ecofriendly fuels. The types of alternative energy options offered by Ford include compressed natural gas, electricity, propane autogas, biodiesel, and ethanol fuel. Compressed natural gas is methane stored at high pressure. Although liquid gas can be used to fuel engines, most vehicles that run on natural gas use the gaseous form. Electricity is stored in the form of a rechargeable battery. To recharge, the batteries must be plugged into a power source. Some of the electric vehicles have on-board chargers and others use