Italian sportscar runs on plastic waste
We all generate more plastic waste than we want to admit. I’m always trying to be better. It’s not my fault that my preferred brand of nutritional yeast comes in a single-use plastic container. I’m forever watching TikTok videos on how to upcycle plastic bottles into planters for my herb garden or watching YouTube DIYers melt HDPE into marbleized blocks for future craft projects. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to turn every empty container into a googly eyed widget worthy of an Etsy page. Luckily, I may soon be able to turn my plastic waste into fuel for my car.
Italian automaker Bertone is teaming up with Select Fuel for their GB110 hypercar. The car, which marks Bertone’s 110th anniversary boasts acceleration from 0 to 300 km/h in just 14 seconds, with 1100 hp and a torque of 1100 Nm, according to the company. Using Advanced Plastics to Fuel Technology, Select Fuel is able to take plastic waste and “convert it back into its original form: a valuable petrochemical bi-product – a source of fuel for all ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) power-plants.”
In a recent quote, Jean-Franck Ricci, CEO of Bertone, said, “We believe that de-pollution will require different solutions with combinations of technologies. Plastic waste needs to be treated as a valuable resource. Through our partnership with Select Fuel we take what was once waste and convert it back into its original form.”
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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