Thirsty? Try On-The-Go H2O

Ford Motor Company engineers are always pushing the boundaries of innovation, generating hundreds of new and extraordinary ideas every day. For Doug Martin, Ford powertrain controls engineer, it was after reading about a billboard in Lima, Peru, that converted moisture in the air into drinking water for the local community, that he set out to apply this theory to the automobile.

Traditional automotive air conditioning systems create condensation and the byproduct, water, is expelled onto the ground. Martin and his colleague John Rollinger took the already existing a/c components and designed a system to collect condensation, filter and distribute clean water to a faucet inside the cabin.

“All that water going to waste should be recovered to serve a purpose,” said Martin. “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.”