Three Volkswagen cars on a journey from Alaska to Chile ’s Tierra del Fuego running only on biodiesel fuel are expected to stop at San José ’s Parque del Lago hotel at 4 p.m. today, according to a statement from the German Embassy.

The small fleet of cars, driven by nine people who rotate drivers every five hours, are out to be the first to complete the 25,000 trip along the Pan-American Highway powered completely by biodiesel, a non-contaminating fuel. The team plans to make the journey in less than 15 days, the statement said.

The trip is sponsored by the Costa Rican Sports and Recreation Institute, the German Embassy, the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the Costa Rican-German Chamber of Commerce and the Costa Rican Motor Federation.

The Costa Rican government has expressed interest in “adopting new, more sustainable energy sources,” the statement said, including biological fuels, which are produced from renewable raw materials.

Biological fuels like biodiesel are produced from substances of vegetable and animal origin that, unlike traditional, fossil fuels, do not contaminate the atmosphere with carbon dioxide and contribute to global warming.

-Tico Times