By Eric Flack
(LOUISVILLE) -- Along Florida's Gulf Coast,
water is everywhere. From the bay to the beach to the town of
Clearwater, that is where we found Denny Klein. A man driven by
water, literally.
Klein has invented the world's first water powered car. It
runs on what he calls "Aquygen." Aquygen is water or H2O,
broken down and turned into HHO gas, something scientists once
thought impossible.
"Any PhD or library, they say you can't mix hydrogen and
oxygen. And still to this day we get a lot of people who don't
believe us because that's what they were taught," Klein said.
But people are quickly learning Klein and his car are for
real.
Klein says his design will retrofit any piston engine.
An economic development team from the county and local
government TV got a demonstration while we were there.
Klein says he initially developed Aquygen to create a safer,
less polluting blowtorch. Klein realized Aquygen would clean up
car emissions as well. The only thing that would come out of the
tailpipe was water.
Soon, his vision became a reality.
Like most alternative fuel cars, the prototype is actually a
hybrid. It runs on a gas and Aquygen mixture. Whenever you're
ready, you flip the switch and the Aquygen kicks in.
The result is up to a 50 percent jump in gas mileage. Klein's
Ford Escort prototype gets 384 miles on a tank of gas. 576 miles
with a little Aquygen mixed in.
Klein sees a totally Aquygen powered car sometime in the
future. With that, he says you could drive 100 miles on 4 ounces
of water. "You just drive it like a regular car. The
infrastructure is already in place to get it serviced so we
don't have to reinvent the wheel," Klein said.
For now, Denny Klein is content to perfect the hybrid version
of the car. He says it could hit the market in as little as 2
years.
Aquygen units for industrial use are already for sale and
Klein says other uses for it remain on the horizon. After all,
with Aquygen, the possibilities are as endless as the supply.
If you're worried about losing power, don't. Unlike some
other alternative fuel cars, Klein says he actually gets a
couple extra horsepower when he uses Aquygen.
There are two hurdles to a car that runs totally on Aquygen.
One: long-term impact on the engine. Will the water speed up
rust or corrosion over time? Two: figuring out a process to tank
the gas for distribution.
Tonight on WAVE 3 News at 6: find out which major
companies and government agencies are interested in Aquygen and
how the invention has turned Klein's life upside down.