In Cuba, where fuel scarcity has become part of the everyday landscape —much like long lines, power outages, or Días-Contados memes— popular creativity is once again finding a way through with solutions that seem straight out of another era.
This week, a curious invention has caught attention on social media: a Cuban managed to adapt a small Fiat Polski car to operate using charcoal as fuel.
Yes, coal.
The images of the vehicle show a system installed in the rear of the car, consisting of several metal tanks, hoses, and containers that resemble more of a workshop experiment than a conventional automotive modification.
But behind that improvised appearance lies a real technological principle: the gasifier, a system that allows solid materials like wood or coal to be converted into a gas capable of fueling internal combustion engines.
The adaptation is attributed to Juan Carlos Pino, and the photos and videos of the peculiar vehicle were initially shared by his wife, Odalys Almeida, before they circulated widely on social media.
Although at first glance it may seem like an invention worthy of the "land of inventors," the technology is not new. In fact, it is over a century old. During World War II, when gasoline was scarce in Europe, hundreds of thousands of vehicles were modified with gasifiers to run on wood or coal.
France, Germany, and the Nordic countries came to have more than one million cars equipped with these emergency systems.
The principle is relatively simple, at least in theory. Charcoal is burned with a limited amount of oxygen inside a metal reactor.
In this process, a mixture of combustible gases is generated — primarily carbon monoxide and hydrogen — known as producer gas or synthesis gas. Once this gas is filtered and cooled, it can enter the engine and partially replace gasoline.
The result is a vehicle that can indeed move without a drop of fossil fuel.
That said, there are some notable disadvantages.
The first is power. Engines that run on gasifiers usually lose between 30% and 50% of their efficiency, so the speed and acceleration are not exactly those of a Formula 1.
But when it comes to surviving the gasoline shortage, probably no one is thinking about running the Havana Grand Prix.
However, beyond the ingenuity—which many on social media have celebrated—there are risks that should not be ignored.
The main one is carbon monoxide, one of the gases produced by the system. This compound is extremely toxic: it is colorless, odorless, and can cause serious poisoning within minutes if it accumulates in enclosed spaces.
A minimal leak in the pipes or connections could allow gas to enter the interior of the vehicle, with potentially dangerous consequences for the driver and passengers.
It is also important to remember that the reactor where the coal is burned can reach temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius, which increases the risk of fires if the system is not properly insulated.
In other words, the invention works... but it is not exactly certified by any automotive safety authority.
Even so, the peculiar Fiat has become a symbol of something very Cuban: the ability to improvise solutions where the system fails. In an island where fuel appears and disappears with the same frequency as electricity, ingenuity becomes a resource for survival.
That said, sometimes with a little detail: when necessity is pressing, the inventions that can spark a reaction also multiply… in more than one sense.
Filed under: