While Saab’s bankruptcy last December is still proving hard to swallow among many in the industry, there’s been no shortage of potential suitors looking to revive the Swedish automaker.

Besides Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Group, which narrowly missed acquiring the automaker and is still in talks with Saab’s receivers, an as yet unnamed Sino-Japanese consortium is now also expressing interest.

However, in this case, there’s a bit of an environmental twist. The consortium in question, which reportedly has very deep pockets, plans to revive Saab as a manufacturer of electric vehicles, since it already has a vested interest in battery technology.

In fact according to an unnamed Swedish source, the consortium is very keen on acquiring Saab assets and has likely already tabled a bid.

As for the viability of electric cars, well, it perhaps isn’t as far out as it might seem. As little as a year ago, Saab was still working on electric vehicle programs and indeed had assembled a fleet of some 70 9-3 e-Power models using 135-kw motors (essentially a more powerful version of the UQM unit found in the 2012 Coda sedan) and Boston Power Swing Cell lithium ion batteries (already available as mass produced items).

So, if it the bid does prove successful, there’s every indication we might indeed see e-Power 9-3s or derivatives become a reality. That said sources in Sweden still remain skeptical about the commercial viability of EVs in the near term. Furthermore, another major obstacle to a possible Saab EV revival lies with General Motors – specifically its unenthusiastic stance of allowing Chinese companies access to technology it originally licensed to Saab. It was GM’s refusal to do so that led to the Youngman deal falling through last December and Saab filing for bankruptcy.

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Enter the Saab BioPower Hybrid Concept. Saab dubs the concept as “the world’s first fossil free hybrid vehicle.”

Of course, the kitchen sink approach to solving environmental problems in cars would be expensive and couldn’t solve a number of “structural” problems – but Saab deserves credit for using the concept to try to jump over each hurdle.

First, biofuel is not yet widely available in Europe. Today, there are more than 650 E85 fuel pumps in Sweden. A total of 800 pumps, covering 25% of the country’s filling stations, are targeted by the end of 2008, and there are similar efforts to establish ethanol pumps throughout Europe. Saab addresses this issue by using a direct injection system designed to burn 100% ethanol or any mixture of ethanol and petrol.

Ethanol has a higher octane rating but packs less energy per gallon of gasoline; therefore, Saab BioPower uses turbo charging to give the engine more power, without risk of ‘knocking.’ Performance is also enhanced via extra boost from the electric motors.

Even the most eco-friendly car, when stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic burns fuel unnecessarily, unless you have a “zero-mode” button on the dashboard, giving you the ability to drive all-electric at speeds lower than 20 miles per hour. The Saab BioPower Hybrid Concept has that too.

And if all that wasn’t enough, the Saab BioPower Hybrid is a convertible – which completes the fantasy of a care-free high-performance drive through the country in a bio-fuel powered hybrid.

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