The creators of Australia's first "poo-powered" car say they hope the technology will inspire others to look at new ways of using renewable energy.

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV at the Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU) treatment plant in Oxley, south west of Brisbane, is powered solely by electricity generated from human waste gas.

With the plant capturing waste from about 300,000 Brisbane residents, power is generated when biogas from the sewage is fed into a cogeneration unit - a giant engine that creates electricity.

The car was unveiled on Tuesday, accompanied by an enthusiastic Top Gear-inspired mascot named The Stink, whose uniform was adorned with a large smiling poop emoji.

QUU spokesman Justin Poulus said the company was investigating how to purify the gas so it could be a standalone product.

"When we extract the gas off the human waste it's about 60 per cent pure. To use it in a gas-fired car it needs to be about 98 per cent pure," he said.

"We are, like others, looking around the world for the technology that will clean or scrub that gas to 98 per cent and then we've got a second energy option."

The car was launched by an enthusiastic Top Gear-inspired mascot named The Stink. ( ABC News: Molly Frankham )

QUU spokeswoman Michelle Cull said there were zero gas emissions from the energy process, which was currently saving the company about $2 million each year in operating costs.

She said QUU hoped to one day power its 300-strong vehicle fleet through renewable energy.

RACQ technical director Steve Spalding said technology offered a potential alternative to traditional fossil fuels.

"Oil supplies will only last so long," he said.

"For a number of years there's been a general concern that the oil will run out so we have to find additional and renewable energy sources and this is one way of doing it."

However, Mr Spalding said the take-up of electric powered cars in Queensland was low, with only about 200 sold into the market.

He said many consumers had been discouraged by the limited distances the vehicles could travel before they needed to be recharged.

"We certainly need to see manufacturer initiatives, confidence in the technology and more affordable vehicles to help increase the number of vehicles that are not only on sale, but that people will buy," he said.