Imagine a vehicle one-third the weight of today’s typical car made almost entirely out of vegetables and natural sources that can travel 70 to 80 miles on one gallon of fuel. Harry Featherstone has dreamt of such a vehicle and is currently working with a number of organizations to make it a reality. Featherstone, a former director at Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Daimler-Chrysler Corp. has worked in practically every department—control, production and head of engineering, to name a few. His interest in automobiles dates back to when he and his friends used to tinker with an old Ford Model T. “We must have torn it down and put it back together 20 times,” Featherstone says. After a long and successful career in a number of auto-related ventures, Featherstone is now devoted to an organization he began two years ago called Seeds of Opportunity (SO). Composed of a number of Wooster, Ohio, businesses, SO actively seeks the realization of the Agri-Car, a biomass-based vehicle that could change the face of transportation in a number of ways, Featherstone explains. With his expertise in the automotive world, he knew what was needed to produce the ultimate Agri-Car, but whether his wishes were feasible was another story. During the past year, he has chatted with some of the greatest minds in the academic field challenging them to build his Agri-Car.

“I made phone calls to the University of California—San Diego’s marine division—Tsinghau University in Beijing, China, and then I went to the Goodyear Polymer Center at the University of Akron and the Center for Automotive Research at Ohio State University,” Featherstone says. “I went to all of them and all of them said, ‘Harry, I think we can do this.’”

Five major elements are required to create Featherstone’s biobased vehicle:

New nonsteel framework material: A material that is 10 times lighter and 10 times more elastic so it can be formed and malleable yet is tough. This would lead to the exclusion of the inner body of the car, creating more room for protection, as well as reducing overall vehicle weight and cost thus increasing fuel efficiency and safety.

Carbon dioxide conversion system: A retrofit device system that converts carbon dioxide to neutral in today’s internal combustion engine exhaust.

New engine system: By looking to some of nature’s innovations like the electricity in an electric eel, the sensory abilities of creatures that live in the ocean depths and the inner eye system of the Bengal tiger, Featherstone designed an engine system containing light/solar cells that fuel a battery.

Nonpetroleum lubricants: According to Featherstone’s calculations there is a potential to eliminate 50 million barrels of oil annually by using alternative sources for lubricants, such as emulsified lard. Featherstone received a patent for this technology in the 1950s, but at that time was not able to remove the odor. Today this is possible, he says.

Natural rubber tires: At Ohio State University’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) researchers are developing a species of dandelion from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to use as an American-grown source of natural rubber. Additionally, Japan-based Yokohama Tires has developed a technology that blends citrus oil with natural rubber to make tires, eliminating 80 percent of the petroleum.

Developers of the Agri-Car project are in the process of assembling a formal entity that will pursue the concept and put everything under one umbrella. At the moment it is “a dispersed set of resources and activities that all contribute,” says Jim Currie, codirector of an Ohio State University program designed to connect research and researchers with public and private applications in the marketplace. Currie and Featherstone continue to work closely on the Agri-Car project. Currie says that there are many research projects going on at universities today that may not be directed specifically at automobiles, but could have applications. For example, the OARDC is currently working with an outside entity to further develop biobased fibers that can replace glass fibers in fiberglass and polymers. These fibers, found in automobile dashboards and most molded and extreated plastics, give the products strength and prevent them from weakening and falling apart, Currie says.

Conversely, biobased products that are being developed for the automobile industry may be used in other products. “You can develop an Agri-Car simply for the sake of the car, but at the same time you can use that to drive the research in planning ahead for much broader applications than just a car,” Currie says. “If it’s useful in developing this type of fiber in automotive parts, then it certainly is useful for say children’s highchairs.”

Hitting the Road
Several automobile manufacturers are already offering components derived from renewable sources. Volvo Car Corp. currently uses renewable sources in nearly 100 biobased components, mostly sound absorption blocks or mats made of cotton fibers. In addition, the company has plans for producing hard components such as dashboards and ceilings using flax and cellulose, as well as seats using natural fibers such as hemp, sisal, jute and soy foam fillings, according to the company’s Web site. Mercedes-Benz has developed a concept car called the RECY that is 100 percent recyclable, created from sustainable sources and powered by biodiesel. Honda has created a plant-based biofabric for its FC concept vehicle’s interior upholstery.

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