Ford's On-The-Go H2O

An inspiration can strike one’s mind from just about any source. That’s exactly what happened to Doug Martin, an engineer with Ford Motor Company, who was in Lima, Peru, where he saw a billboard that turned humidity into drinkable water for the local population. The engineer’s idea revolves around how to use a vehicle to produce drinkable water. Condensation from the vehicle’s air conditioner, which usually drips on the roads, could be used in the same way.

Martin worked with his colleague John Rollinger to materialise the idea by creating a prototype that collects, filters and pumps the condensation directly to a faucet fixed inside the vehicle. During a test run, Martin discovered that the condensation from a vehicle’s air conditioning can produce more than 1.9 litres of water every hour. Once purified, it is enough for the driver and a passenger to go on without stopping for water. This means there will be less plastic bottles to recycle and with fewer pit stops, march-on in a more fuel efficient manner.

Speaking to the media in Dearborn, Michigan, Martin said, “All that water going to waste should be recovered to serve a purpose. The real vision is that this idea could eventually help people who don’t have easy access to water, in remote locations such as the Australian Outback, for example. I’m trying to make my twin daughters proud, and make the world a better place for them.”

Doug Martin, now a Ford powertrain controls engineer, has been with the American automaker for 22 years and holds nearly 70 auto-related patents.

There is no word from Ford whether this technology will make it to its list of offerings, however, the American automotive giant has proved that a vehicle is capable of delivering drinkable water on the go.