Mercedes Benz Mondo Futuro: a car that goes back to the future

Mondo Futuro – is this the car of the future? The Joint Chemical Engineering Committee of South Australia (JCEC SA), in Australia, is a cooperative initiative of members of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, the Engineers Australia Chemical College and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute based in South Australia.

The JCEC SA Mondo Futuro art project is being showcased as part of the 2018 Adelaide Biennial. The intention of the work is to increase public awareness of bio-fuels and the theme of the ‘re-discovery of past innovation within present contexts'.

The Mercedes Benz Mondo Futuro art project provides a look at the principles and challenges of converting a petrol-powered car to function on woodgas via the installation and operation of a downdraft wood gasifier, which is technology based on the charcoal gas producer methods used to repower vehicles during fuel shortages in World War 2.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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