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To reduce the risk of a 5°C rise in global temperatures from 50% to 3%, the G20 nations have agreed to reduce CO2 emissions to two tonnes per person per year by 2050. But what can you do with 2 tonnes of carbon? The Biotruck team are attempting to drive around the world emitting less than 2 tonnes of CO2, and discovering how other people are cutting their footprint.
One of the guys at Artemis has been really enthusiastic about this project and made a considerable personal donation.
www.artemisonline.co.uk
Careful how you pronounce the name, its "Fooks". The trouble with using plant-oil based fuels is it reacts with engine oil, so you have to change it more often, however Plantomot MAXX engine oil is formulated so that it doesn't react, and better still, it's made from a plant oil feedstock. So vegetables are lubricating the Biotruck Engine as well as powering it.
www.fuchs-oil.com
Bright water make shower heads that run as use as little as 2 litres per minute but still feel like a normal shower. Most domestic showers work at 15litres per minute upwards. Imagine taking a 10 minute shower but using less than 2 minutes worth of water.
www.bwater.eu
I saw their 2-stage water filter on EBay and thought that would save me from using lots of plastic bottles when buying water, and I only called them up to ask about the specification of the unit, but after a brief chat they agreed to send us one for free.
www.collinswaterproducts.co.uk
Thanks to the expertise of the Terra-Ambiente sustainability consultant
Daniela Meilmann
we are measuring and quantifying the CO2 emissions of the Biotruck Expedition.
www.terra-ambiente.co.uk
These units use electricity from the vehicle alternator to make hydrogen which acts as a catalyst in the combustion chamber producing a cleaner more efficient burn of fuel. In some vehicles they also take advantage of alternator inefficiency, and can produce notable decreases in fuel consumption. The guys at Magdrive are right behind Biotruck and have been since we first got in touch 18 months before the start.
www.magdrive.co.uk
Biofuels Media organise the European Bioenergy Expo and Conference. Last year they gave Biotruck free exhibition space and a platform to address the conference. Invaluable networking while fundraising.
www.biofuelsmedia.com
These guys do big installations of PV solar panels all over the world, and when they heard about the Biotruck they wanted to help out. Together we've developed a PV system which will be integral to helping us stay low-impact and keep off-grid while we are on the road.
www.ecovolt.co.uk
Oilybits provide everything you need to make Biofuels or convert engines to run on veg oil, from hoses, to pumps, to filters, and all the little widgets you didn't even know you'd need.... Their hands on help in getting the Biotruck converted, designing the onboard filtration system, and their ongoing enthusiasm for Biotruck projects has helped to lift my spirits when it all seemed impossible.
www.oilybits.com
This is brilliant. Solara make a GPS unit which uses the sat phone network to upload your position on an hourly basis. We're using it to power lots of aspects of the web site. And it receives the SMS text messages you send to the bus. It's also an important safety and security tool to keep track of us in remote places. The guys you speak to at Solara are the engineers who design the units so I've always gotten answers to even the toughest questions immediately.
www.solaradata.com
In record time Zoedale agreed to support Biotruck during the construction phase, and in no time had the high spec Sirai valves we needed to convert the engine to run on veg oil at our workshop. The units were packaged in recycled shredded paper, a very holistic approach to waste.
www.sirai.com
www.zoedale.co.uk
In record time Zoedale agreed to support Biotruck during the construction phase, and in no time had the high spec Sirai valves we needed to convert the engine to run on veg oil at our workshop. The units were packaged in recycled shredded paper, a very holistic approach to waste.
www.sirai.com
www.zoedale.co.uk
Designed, built, hosting and maintaining this website and support throughout the expedition.
www.indigopapa.com
For over a year Separett have been following the development of this project and provided a 12v waterless toilet and advice on how to fit it in a vehicle. Every morning I have time to sit and consider how fantastic they are. They also work with NGOs to provide waterless toilets in developing countries. One day we will all shit this way.
www.separett.com
Rough Guides have been supporters of Biotruck projects since the Grease to Greece last year and despite the credit crunch they have filled the Biotruck library with maps, phrase books and their fantastic guidebooks.
www.roughguides.com
The Biomass Energy Foundation have helped us keep our cooking low impact with their wood gas stoves that provide a clean and easy burn without using fossil fuels.
www.woodgas-stove.com
Dan at Clean Diesel Technology instantly wanted to help us, and very quickly designed a particulate filtering system that makes the bus meet Euro4 emission standards. CDTI are also developing products to reduce "Black Carbon" a lesser known greenhouse gas that all vehicles produce.
www.cdti.com
Using recycled plastic bottles as its main ingredient, we've used Non-Itch loft insulation to thermally insulate the walls of the bus against the hot and the cold. It can also be used to prevent thieves drilling in to a vehicle as it clogs drills and grinders.
www.eco-wool.co.uk
There isn't anything Wayne at Total Vehicle Technology doesn't know about these old buses. He worked for Mercedes for 12 years, and can tell you the different micron filtration just by the part number of the filters. Together with Adam they've mechanically breathed new life into the old bus, as well as fitting the particulate filter and given it an energy saving service. They've done all this with such energy and gusto, you can tell that this is a passion with them not just a job. I just wish they were coming with me.
Greenfuels have been supporters of Biotruck projects for a few years now, and offered to help out with the on board biodiesel processor. They were even able to supply some of the kit from stock that had been previously used.
www.greenfuels.co.uk
With typical German efficiency, Ulli from Zuwa has grasped the scale of the technical challenge we are facing and supplied the pump, accessories and maintenance kit we'll need for collecting dirty oil. "You won't fail because of our equipment" he's pledged, inspiring confidence in their kit and support.
www.zuwa.de
The guys at Good Energy have been really supportive and excited about the expedition, so much so that they have made a contribution which allows me to keep the blog regularly updated during the expedition, so they and everyone else can follow the journey. Good Energy supplies 100% renewable electricity sourced from wind, water, sun and sustainable biomass. CO2 from coal-fired electricity generation is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the world.
Switch your electricity
supply to Good Energy using this link and not only will you be supporting the pioneering community of independent green generators, but for every sign up they get they'll make another donation to help get the bus around the world. It helps you cut your personal CO2 emissions, helps them grow a great business, and helps me get round the world.
www.goodenergy.co.uk
Maersk Line are shipping the vehicle (and where possible the team) across the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The team that arranged this have been really enthusiastic about the expedition and it's involved a lot of staff across numerous countries. The scale they operate on means their carbon saving initiatives have a big effect, and I've sensed their momentum for carbon cutting in the organisation's culture.
www.maerskline.com
These guys turn waste into fuel every day. They collect waste cooking oil from restaurants, turn it into fuel and sell it to the public at their filling station is the heart of London. It's particularly popular with 100's of London's taxis, and for those in the know it provides good, cheap and green fuel. They are providing us with our first fill up of fuel which should get us as far as Turkey.
www.uptownoil.co.uk
The Big Picture hire out AV equipment. I use them regularly myself for work, so I know they are competitively priced and Dave goes beyond the call of duty to make sure everything works reliably. He had a projector with a couple of blank pixels which he can't use for work so he's donated it to the expedition so we can project images and video onto the bus during the journey.
Switch your electricity
supply to Good Energy using this link and not only will you be supporting the pioneering community of independent green generators, but for every sign up they get they'll make another donation to help get the bus around the world. It helps you cut your personal CO2 emissions, helps them grow a great business, and helps me get round the world.
www.big-picture.biz
A couple of years ago the guys at Satcom provided sim cards and airtime for the Timbuktu trip and their service was so good I kept in touch. This year they have stepped in and offered some airtime and a Thuraya Sim card free so I will be able to keep the twitters up to date for the first part of the journey.
www.satcomgroup.com
Eurotunnel are providing transport across, or rather under the channel. Their electricity supply now comes from
low carbon sources
in France, making Le Toonell the channel crossing with the lowest impact on the expedition carbon footprint.
www.eurotunnel.co.uk
Ekit are providing a global roaming sim card which means I can receive calls and SMS messages without it costing the earth. They also have a travel journal service I’m using with my friends and family so I can keep them updated and they can see where I am, and send me messages from the web. It’s really easy to use.
www.ekit.com
Ecoskills zone are supporting Terra Ambiente in calculating the expedition carbon footprint.
hover over to see how they helped the expedition