Longer description of your proposed project

There are at least four catastrophes that could disrupt electricity over a large area, including an extreme solar storm, multiple detonations of nuclear weapons at high altitude causing electromagnetic pulses (HEMPs), extreme cyber attack, or extreme pandemic causing people to be unwilling or unable to report to work in critical industries. When I first investigated these catastrophes, I thought that we might have to go back to animal power for farming and transportation. However, I then realized that, in World War II, people made tanks that they put on vehicles that heated wood chips up to create a gas that would flow into internal combustion engines. This would make surviving and recovering from the catastrophe much better. However, I am not aware of anyone trying to do this without electricity, and with a hybrid car. The project would involve purchasing an old hybrid car and using the mechanical energy of the car to power an existing wood chipper. It would also involve making a wood gasifier without electricity to power the car. Finally, we would modify the car to produce electricity. The effort would involve six senior-level undergraduates in mechanical/mechatronics engineering for their final year projects. We plan to submit at least one journal article for peer review.

Describe why you think you're qualified to work on this

An analysis indicated that I am the second most prolific author in the world in the global catastrophic/existential risk field <https://existentialcrunch.substack.com/p/the-top-25-existential-risk-researchers>. I have a history of investigating neglected areas and coming up with novel interventions. Though most of my 90 or so peer-reviewed papers have involved modeling, I have participated in a number of successful experimental projects over the years, involving heat exchangers (for my dissertation), leaf protein concentrate, seaweed drying, clothes dryers, and repurposing an oven to be a wood burning stove. The students have several lab classes where they have learned relevant skills. I advised two groups of students in 2023 at the University of Canterbury and I was impressed with their outputs (one team worked on a high-efficiency dishwasher prototype, and the other developed an automated cooking temperature system).

Other ways I can learn about you

EA Forum bio: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/users/denkenberger

How much money do you need?

To sponsor the projects costs US$12,000. Then $13,000 would cover the old hybrid car, space rental, equipment, and supplies.

Links to any supporting documents or information

You can see many of my relevant publications here: <https://allfed.info/research/publications-and-reports>.

Estimate your probability of succeeding if you get the amount of money you asked for

I think that powering the wood chipper with a hybrid car has an 90% chance of working. Making a wood gasifier without electricity I think has an 80% chance. Some hybrid cars already have an outlet that can produce a limited amount of electricity. But producing significantly more would involve getting much deeper into the car, so I would give that a 50% chance of working. However, the backup plan is mechanically powering an electric motor as a generator outside the car, which I think has an 90% chance of working.

Update Sept 2024: Because of reasons including safety concerns associated with a hybrid car engine turning off and toxic gases being expelled, we purchased a conventional petrol (gasoline) vehicle. Also because of safety concerns, we did not construct a wood gasifier. Fortunately, many people have constructed wood gasifiers, and we expect there would be a certain amount of electricity from backup generators that were not plugged in (and therefore would be safe from HEMP) and could use already refined fossil fuels for a limited period of time to facilitate gasifier construction. We have successfully used the car to power a wood chipper. We have also used it to generate electricity in an external electrical generator.

Update Feb 2025: We have now submitted an article to a journal: https://doi.org/10.31223/X5171H .

Abstract

Following global catastrophic infrastructure loss (GCIL), traditional electricity networks would be unavailable, necessitating alternative solutions to sustain critical services, such as decentralized electricity generation from wood gas. This study explores the feasibility of using modified light duty vehicles to self-sustain electricity generation by producing wood chips for wood gasification. A 2004 Ford Falcon Fairmont was modified to power a woodchipper and an electrical generator. The vehicle successfully produced wood chips suitable for gasification with an energy return on investment (EROI) of 3.7 and sustained a stable output of 20 kW electrical power. Scalability analyses suggest such solutions could provide electricity to the water sanitation sector, equivalent to 4% of global electricity demand, if production of woodchippers was increased post-catastrophe. Future research could investigate the long-term durability of modified vehicles, scalability of wood gasification, and alternative electricity generation methods in GCIL scenarios. This work provides a foundation for developing resilient, decentralized energy systems to ensure the continuity of critical services during catastrophic events, leveraging existing vehicle infrastructure to enhance disaster preparedness.

Update Aug 2025: The project has been published in the peer-reviewed journal Energy Engineering: https://www.sciencedirect.com/org/science/article/pii/S019985952500048X