Queensland Urban Utilities has unveiled Australia’s first poo-powered car, which runs on electricity generated from sewage at the utility's Oxley Creek Sewage Treatment Plant in Brisbane’s west.   

QUU spokesperson Michelle Cull says the Poo Car ­the electricity used to power the Poo Car – a a Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle (i-MiEV) ­– is produced by a cogeneration unit at the treatment plant.

“If you live in Brisbane’s south or west, every time you flush the loo, or use your shower and sink, you’ll be helping to power our Poo Car,” she says. 

“We’re converting the waste from 300,000 people into electricity, to run both this electric car and our sewage treatment plant.

“By harnessing the power of poo, we’re not only reducing our operating costs but helping the environment by using a cleaner, greener energy source.”

Cogeneration involves capturing the biogas produced from sewage sludge, then using it to drive an engine which creates electricity.

The car plugs into a 240 volt power point, charges overnight and has a range of up to 150 km.

“It would cost around $1900 a year to fuel a similar sized petrol-powered car,” Cull says.

“We’re also reducing our greenhouse gas emissions because we’re using a renewable energy source. 

“This is just the first step. In the future, we’re hoping our entire fleet may one day be powered by poo.”   

QUU operates three cogeneration units at its biggest sewage treatment plants at Oxley Creek and Luggage Point.

The technology produces up to 50% of the plants’ electricity needs, delivering savings of up to $2.5 million a year.

“This is a great example of how modern sewage treatment plants are becoming more like resource recovery centres where we’re turning waste into something useful like energy,” Cull says.