Fueling the future with Vivaan Shah

What can an 11-year-old actually do about sustainable fuel? The honest answer might surprise you. In the final episode of the first phase of Fueling the Future, Vivaan asks the question he kept running into while making this series: if individual actions aren't enough, and I can't change policy — what do I actually do? His answer is less about action and more about something more fundamental.

When I started this podcast, someone asked me: what actually comes next? Beyond the problems — what are the real alternatives? In this episode, Vivaan explores three directions the future of fuel is heading: electric vehicles and why India's coal grid complicates the clean story, hydrogen and why it might suit trucks more than cars, and solar fuel — a factory in Germany that makes jet fuel from no...

What happens to the food you throw away? What if it could power a car? Imagine throwing away a banana peel after eating. Usually it ends up in a dustbin, then a landfill. But what if that banana peel could be turned into fuel? In this episode, Vivaan explores how organic waste — food scraps, agricultural leftovers, even cow dung — can be converted into biogas and used to power vehicles, homes, and...

Every winter, farmers burn crop waste. But what if that same waste could earn them money? In many parts of India, after harvesting crops, farmers are left with stubble — leftover plant material they burn to clear their fields quickly. It causes serious air pollution, especially in cities like Delhi. But there's a better solution. In this episode, Vivaan explores how farm waste can be turned into e...

What if the fuel we use today is running out — and harming the planet at the same time? Think about your daily life. Cars need petrol, buses need diesel, and even cooking at home uses gas. Most of these fuels come from fossil fuels — made over millions of years, impossible to replace quickly. But fossil fuels are not only limited. They cause pollution and contribute to climate change. This is wher...

Exploring how the fuel we use every day affects our planet, and how small ideas can help create a cleaner and more sustainable future.