You too can run your truck on garbage! Yes. I know you have been thinking “It’s so hard to take this garbage to the curb, why not just put it in my truck?” Well – now you can! 21st Century Motor Works has been developing a system that sits in the bed of your truck that will take any plant matter — wood, food waste, paper products – and convert the energy in the waste into a gas that can power your truck. Dave “Doc Brown” Nichols has converted his ’89 Ford to run on this gasification process and he claims to get 1-2 miles per pound. Kind of takes recycling to a new level, doesn’t it?
In all seriousness this technology is not actually new and was used during WW2 when gasoline supplies were cut off. The concept lost favor because it was more difficult to produce a burnable mix than simply filling up with gasoline. In our current world, this could have a better future as a technology. In the movie “Back to the Future” the time traveling DeLorean had the crazy Doc Brown putting garbage in a blender that processed it for the the fusion reactor in the car.
So we applaud Mr. Nichols and his attempt to do something new. I hope he gets some Federal funding for this, certainly he deserves money more than that twit Elon Musk with his battery powered Lotus Tesla, and I don’ think that Jesse has the political connection for his alternative energy system.
Go to 21st Century Motorworks and voice your approval. Or at least comment on the NY Times article. Do something.
Here is a little of the original Doc Brown for your entertainment
