Just In Time

“The realities of air pollution in Asia are staggering,” says Tim Bauer, a recipient of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise and founder of Envirofit International, a non-profit organization geared towards “making a significant impact on global problems through technology.”

Doing research on the use of direct injection to improve the emissions from snowmobiles at Yellowstone Park, Bauer realized that there was potential for the same technology to reduce pollution from emissions dramatically. He then decided to develop “a commercially viable product and make it widely available in Asia.”

One source of air pollution is the emissions from two-stroke engines caused by the traditional way of fuel delivery. Bauer explains, “To achieve a more stable combustion, conventional two-stroke engines generally operate in a fuel rich mode, contributing to high levels of carbon monoxide emissions.”

Utilizing direct injection results in a more complete combustion of fuel. This, in turn, results in better fuel efficiency and less emissions. Thus, Bauer came up with a two-stroke direct injection retrofit kit for small two-stroke engines, targeting for its pilot run the many tricycles all around the Philippines. His innovative project is the technology’s first-ever commercial retrofit application.

 “Envirofit’s two-stroke DI retrofit kit reduces carbon monoxide emissions by 76 percent, carbon dioxide emissions by 35 percent, and hydrocarbon emissions by 89 percent,” he says, adding, “At the same time, fuel use is reduced by 35 percent and oil by 50 percent.”

“In the Philippines, about 1.8 million tricycle drivers have to face appalling traffic conditions for long hours every day in order to transport their passengers on congested thoroughfares, roads flooded by torrential rain or riddled with deep potholes. When neither cars nor buses can get through, a tricycle will always find a way,” he says on choosing the Philippines as the pilot country for his project. “These all-purpose vehicles apply to millions of people who use them to earn a living, get to work, school, the market or church. They play an essential role in the social and economic fabric, but their impact on public health is disastrous.”

For the pilot run, the retrofit kit has been offered to tricycle drivers of Vigan and Puerto Princesa, the latter having a tricycle population of 4,000. “Puerto Princesa is widely regarded as the most eco-responsible capital of the Philippines, primarily due to the dedication of Mayor Hagedorn, and is fostering a growing industry in eco-tourism,” says Bauer. “We were looking towards their ‘high profile’ reputations and clientele to serve a very useful public relations role for Envirofit DI technology.”

A grant from the Asian Development Bank helped them bring the cost of the kits down by 50 percent, making the offer very attractive to drivers.

Bauer reports that interest in the technology has been growing steadily throughout the region. “Drivers appreciate the benefits and increased income,” he says. Some drivers, in fact, report increases of up to $2,000 (P95,000) annually. “This type of income is obviously empowering, and creates new opportunities for these drivers and their families.”

So far, Bauer says that each vehicle that has been retrofitted has shown a notable and visible improvement. The project has also increased public awareness on air pollution in the pilot cities. “This has spawned a new culture of clean-air focus in these cities and in the region,” says Bauer.

For his significant accomplish-ments through Envirofit, Bauer received the Rolex Award for Enterprise. He recalls that he was both excited and surprised when he first found out that he was chosen for the award. “This award is an incredible honor,” he says. “This greatly legitimizes our work. Our hope is that it can help propagate growth in new markets and help Envirofit engage the partnerships necessary to scale this work to make a very real and widespread impact.”

He adds that the funds and publicity from the award will go to further developing the market in the Philippines and other regions.

“Envirofit’s ultimate measure of success for all of our projects is ‘People, Planet, Profit,’” says Bauer on the future goals of the project. “We aim to create jobs and increase incomes – primarily at the bottom of the pyramid – to achieve substantial environmental health improvements and combat global warming, and to ensure the sustainability of our solutions via economic-viability.”

With increased interest in the retrofit kits all over the Philippines as well as in other Asian countries, the project is well on its way to making a global impact. Recently, they conducted a demonstration in Pune, India, with the US Environmental Protection Agency applying the retrofit DI technology to auto-rickshaws.

The environment is definitely an urgent and growing concern worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that over 2.4 million pre-mature deaths each year are due to air pollution. Bauer says, “Our retrofit kit drastically reduces two-stroke emissions, increases energy efficiency, and offers the most significant available pay-back mechanism available to any in-use two-stroke user anywhere.” With the increasing environmental problems today, Tim Bauer’s Envirofit comes to the Philippines just in the nick of time.