A European automaker claims its car uses a revolutionary new energy source — here's how it works

A Liechtenstein-based car company called nanoFlowcell is unveiling a car that it claims uses an entirely new energy source to drive.

The automaker claims its car, called the QUANTiNO, is capable of running on electrolyte fuel.

That's not something we've ever seen in practice before, but if it works it will give off zero emissions. 

The company declined a full interview before the Geneva Motor Show in March, where the car will be unveiled, but we did some research to learn more about how it would hypothetically work. Here's what we found. 

The car comes with a fuel cell stack that is filled with "electrolyte fuel."

NanoFlowcell describes electrolyte fuel as "metallic salts in aqueous solution."

Or, in other words, metallic salt water.

The fluid is circulated around the barrier separating the two cells, which produces an electrical current that powers the motor.

RAW Embed

The QUANTiNO also has a battery that helps accelerate the sports car.

This is actually similar to hydrogen-powered cars, which are equipped with battery packs that are not as big as the ones found in traditional electric vehicles. That's because the batteries are not responsible for primary propulsion.