Fuelling the past: Brooklands Museum backs sustainable petrol with vintage motorcycle test
Historic automotive and aviation centre, Brooklands Museum have successfully trialled sustainable fuel in a batch of their antique motorcycles – hinting to the energy source’s potential as a greener means of powering internal combustion engines (ICE).
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The test, backed by fuel supplier Sustain, saw six vintage bikes take to the track on bio-based petrol made largely from waste feedstocks. All ran faultlessly, with no mechanical changes needed.
Sustain say that while ICE is often seen as the problem, in reality, the issue lies with fossil based petrol consumption, arguing that traditional motors will be around for decades to come, and that they may offer a better, and more environmentally friendly solution to decarbonisation that electrification alone.
The firm suggest that their products – along with other renewable alternatives – largely offsets tailpipe emissions compared by capturing carbon during the production process.
“Having the opportunity to use sustainable fuel in these old machines provides the means to continue to ride and display the motorcycles on the road and track whilst still addressing environmental concerns,” said Motorcycle Team Lead, Martin Gegg.
“We just started them as normal, and off they went around the track. From our experience, there was nothing we needed to do – they simply worked.”
Sustain’s fuels are produced by fermenting food waste to create alcohol, which is then chemically engineered to mimic traditional petrol or diesel.
Unlike standard pump petrol, their classic vehicle range contains no ethanol – avoiding issues with old-school rubber seals, plastic tanks, and fuel lines.
“We take the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen – the building blocks of alcohol – and fuse them together in a way that replicates traditional fossil gasoline,” said Sustain Fuels’ David Richardson.
“The easiest way to think about it is that if fossil fuels had DNA, and you overlaid our fuel’s DNA, they should look almost identical. That means you get the same performance characteristics.”
According to government figures, switching to sustainable liquid fuels could cut carbon emissions by more than 80%.
The same motorcycles used during the test will run at Brooklands Museum’s Veteran and Vintage Motorcycle Day on April 6, where visitors can see them in action.
“I think it’s a good way forward,” said Brooklands volunteer Mark Fielder. “Without something like this, these classic machines will just become static. We want to see them working.
“We managed the changeover from leaded to unleaded without a problem – this is just the next step forward.
“We need to move with the times, and a sustainable alternative to traditional petrol is a great way to keep these machines running.”
Although this test focused on vintage motorcycles, the fuels are compatible with any vehicle – from Victorian-era classics to the latest and greatest superbikes. However, they currently cost around three times the price of regular unleaded.
Want to see history in motion? Tickets for the Veteran and Vintage Motorcycle Day event are available now at Brooklands Museum’s website.
