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Juan Carlos Pino, a Cuban mechanic with an eighth grade education, may have found a way around the US oil embargo.
Using the kind of ingenuity many Cubans have done under decades of US sanctions, Pino, 56, converted his 1980s Polish Fiat Polski to run on coal, a cheaper and more abundant fuel than gasoline since Washington cut off oil exports to the Caribbean island in January.
Pino built the structure in his workshop in Aguacate, population 5,000, a town about 70 kilometers east of Havana that once thrived on a now-closed sugar refinery. Today it is surrounded by pastures for cows and stone bread where men walk to work with long chainsaws slung over their shoulders.
In the city, the Pino is a twin-cylinder Polski that zips around the pot-holed streets, its separate 60-litre tank soldered to the back.
The townspeople gather to take selfies, some in disbelief, others asking if he can do it for them.
“In a problem like this, it’s the best option we have,” said Pino, who wants to replace the tractor next. “We need to go, we need to plant crops.”
An idea was in the works
Pino builds his device entirely from scrap and recycled materials. Coal is burned inside a modified propane tank sealed with a transformer lid. The filter is made from a stainless steel milk jug stuffed with old clothes.
Scarcity has long been a constant in Cuba, with its Soviet-style command economy. That has worsened since the US ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, cut off Venezuelan oil while threatening tariffs on any other countries that supply Cuba with fuel.
Power outages have become commonplace. Fuel is strictly limited. On the black market, gasoline is sold for $8 US a liter, or $30 US per liter – six times the official price.
Enter the inventor. Pino once built a machine, built from a motorcycle, to milk three cows at a time. He said he has been thinking about this coal-fired car for many years, inspired by his late uncle. Pino also praised the open source technology developed by Edmundo Ramos, the Argentinian founder behind DriveOnWaste.com.
In an interview, Ramos said some Cubans have called him asking for tips, including one that powers the area with a 50-kilowatt generator.
“The ice maker contacted me first and said he couldn’t make ice. Then the ice cream guy was contacted, then the store owner,” said Ramos.
He said that almost any engine can be converted to run on coal by pumping hot gas instead of gasoline into the carburetor.
‘Salad made with everything’
Pino launched the coal-powered Polski on March 4. In one early test, the car completed a journey of 85 km, reaching a top speed of 70 km/h.
Some Cubans are surprised.
“This is amazing. It left me speechless,” said Yurisbel Fonseca, 27, who stopped his motorcycle to take a closer look and take pictures.
Narvis Cruz, 53, called it “the invention of the year.”
Cruz knows something about Cuban judicial fraud. He drives a 1953 Pontiac powered by a 1940 Perkins engine with a Mercedes transmission, a steering system from the Czech team AVIA, and a differential made by the East German firm Ifa.
“That’s Cuba,” Cruz said. “A salad made with everything.”
