Fission Power – Although the idea of driving around with a small nuclear reactor under the bonnet may seem ridiculous, this is already done with certain large vehicles like aircraft carriers and submarines. It is simply a matter of miniaturization and increasing safety. Vehicles powered like this can go many years without refueling, and the significantly lower weight of the fuel would decrease vehicle weight, thereby increasing efficiency.
A Typhoon-class submarine. It is powered by a fission reactor.
Fusion Power – Fusion is inherently much safer than fission; there are no significantly toxic or radioactive materials involved. However, current science requires plasma (and thus extremely high temperatures) in order to achieve fusion. These temperatures require elaborate containment mechanisms, and these would be harder to miniaturize than any components of a fission reactor.
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