Alkol, a new US-based company, recently launched 1Hour Flex, an alcohol converter which allows any car to run on any amount of alcohol or gasoline in less than one hour.

Originating from Brazil, the country that does not sell 100% gasoline anymore and that has been using 100% ethanol on its cars for over 36 years, the new technology has three constituents.

These are the electric converter that alters fuel injectors’ timing, an Ignition Remapper which alters the spark plug’s firing time, and a Cold Start System, which allows the engine to quickly start in cold days and solves ethanol’s disadvantage of requiring higher temperatures to run properly. CEO Al Costa even dares car owners living in cold states that do not have their cold start system to start their engine on a cold morning.

Alkol boasts that their new technology, which allows cars to run on biofuels like E85 fuel (85% ethanol), offers a complete and ready-to-use system as opposed to that of their competitors where the car owner has to install the conversion box himself.

Costa warned against the dangers of converting a car or flexing it improperly, saying that it could lead to engine failure when most needed, ridiculously high fuel consumption, clogging of fuel injectors and fuel burning up. Costa also raised concern with existing solutions requiring drivers to find the best setting for their engine, which leads them to choose a setting which does not fit any mode at all.

Their product’s qualities, according to Costa, make it possible for their customers to have more power which translates to more savings. The system is estimated to cost US $900 to install.

Although registered in the US, Alkol originated in Brazil, where it has already sold 2,000 units of its conversion system over the past two years, suggesting a proven and mature technology. In the US, it is slowly coming out of "stealth mode" and making ready to enter the market. It is based in Wilmington, Delaware.

- Sunshine T. Santiago