A mystery that has not been solved to this day. And what’s more, it’s still relevant today. The death of the man who invented the water car and died soon after. In his own words, he was a blight on the world of motoring. Isn’t that why he died? And why was his work never continued?

Fraud or not?

Stanley Mayer is the inventor of the water car. It was he who demonstrated a vehicle equipped with his water fuel cell. After all, he became fascinated with alternative energy sources in the early 1980s. He was concerned, like others, about the depletion of fossil fuels. And the pollution of the environment.

Inspired by the potential of hydrogen as a clean and abundant fuel, he embarked on a water-based fuel cell. His revolutionary technology has understandably attracted the interest of investors. But his good fortune did not last long. He did get an investment, but shortly afterwards, in 1996, he was tried for fraud in Ohio. The fuel cell used already developed electrolytic fuel cell technology and was merely presented as an original idea.

Moreover, apart from eyewitnesses, there was no evidence that the car actually ran. Although the technology was indeed already advanced, no clear video footage of the moving car was taken. This led to Stanley having to pay back the investment in full. Because without evidence, no one trusted him anymore. He claimed that his vehicle could travel 180 kilometres with just 4 litres of water and nothing else. That’s 45 kilometres with a litre of something that comes out of everyone’s tap at home. Is that even possible?

Death instead of glory

Stanley Mayer died prematurely in 1998. During a business meeting with his brother and two potential investors from abroad, Stanley reportedly began vomiting violently after consuming cranberry juice. It allegedly happened after just one sip. He clutched his throat and lost his breath. Then he ran out into the parking lot, where he managed to scream out his last sentence. According to his brother, he said he was poisoned by someone.

But the official coroner’s report lists the cause of death as a brain aneurysm. And the coroner also soon closed the case as a natural death. Where the truth lies today is probably hard to know. But one thing is really strange. Why didn’t anyone else ever follow up on his work? After all, the patent on the fuel cell had expired, so anyone could really pick up where Stanley left off. If it had succeeded, it would surely have had a huge environmental benefit. Imagine that! Cars powered only by water.