Frank Markus
NEWS I OPINION I GOSSIP I STUFFTechnologue
22 MOTORTREND.COM SEPTEMBER 2020I
n May 2019, online insurance aggregator NetQuote
did a study swabbing vehicle interior touchpoints
for bacteria in ride-hailing vehicles, rental cars,
and taxis. It then compared those findings against
cultures from a toilet seat. (Hint: Maybe don’t read
this while eating your lunch.)
The results predictably tracked the level of oversight
each industry gets: Taxis were 160 times germier than the
toilet seat, and ride-hailing vehicles measured 219 times
germier than the taxis.
We didn’t cover that story at the time, figuring only
germaphobes of the Howard Hughes or Howie Mandel
ilk would care. But now that we’re all hypersensitized
to pathogens, three novel technologies for disinfecting
shared vehicles caught my full attention.
The best-developed concept hails from Michigan-based
supplier GHSP. Called Grenlite, it employs germicidal
254–264-nm-wavelength ultraviolet-C light that destroys
nucleic acids (the NA in DNA) to stop the reproductive
cycle of microorganisms and pathogens. This has long
been used in sanitizing and sterilizing drinking water,
hospital rooms, offices, airplanes, etc.
UV-C light is invisible and is far more damaging to
humans and animals than the UV-A and UV-B
light that sunscreen blocks (atmospheric
ozone typically filters UV-C), so the space to
be disinfected must be empty. Laser, xenon,
fluorescent, or LED sources can generate
UV-C, but GHSP expects LED will win out in
terms of power, mass, cost, and ease of vehicle
integration. Today’s fluorescent UV-C lamps
and the ballasts that run them draw about
40–60 watts of power per unit, but LED
promises to lower total power consumption.
GHSP’s Grenlite places high-power broad-
cast lamps above each seating row with addi-
tional low-power lamps focused on high-touch areas.
And although a single LED can’t provide ambient and
UV-C light, adjacent LEDs in the same fixture can simplify
integration.
Aftermarket bolt-in Grenlite units currently used in
ambulances (priced from $550 each for three or four units
required) can require 20 minutes to kill all pathogens;
smaller vehicles with integrated systems should require
considerably less time (and cost). Onboard sensors inform
the system when and how much disinfection is needed
and when it’s safe to activate Grenlite. Cloud connectivity
permits fleet tracking. GHSP has received an $80,000
grant to install its system in a fleet of autonomous shuttle
vehicles in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
But UV light only kills pathogens it shines on. What
about germs sneezed into the shadows? Ozone gas—thatweird smell you get when a light switch or car battery
jumper cable sparks—is an unstable arrangement of three
oxygen atoms, where one is eager to hop off and “oxidize”
something. When it encounters a virus, that free-radical
O atom penetrates the capsid protein shell encasing its
genetic material and damages the viral RNA. It wreaks
similar havoc on fungi, molds, pesticides, odors, and other
potentially harmful substances. Testing recently proved
it can neutralize COVID-19.
Meanwhile, supplier Magna is launching Puro, a
device sized like a big cooler that electrically generates
ozone gas and circulates it throughout the space with a
fan for a 25- or 45-minute cycle during which an ozone
concentration of 100 or 250 parts per million is achieved
to decontaminate items like personal protective equip-
ment placed inside. (Sports teams have used ozone to
deodorize and sanitize equipment for years.)
Magna is now exploring options for scaling up Puro
to decontaminate vehicle interiors. Because ozone is a
lung irritant, the vehicle must remain closed and vacant
during decontamination and long enough afterward for
the ozone to decompose into molecular oxygen before use
again. Magna Techform is poised to produce 1,100 Purodevices per week at its Penetanguishene, Ontario plant.
Finally, Pratt Miller (of Corvette race-team fame)
has a large-area autonomous disinfecting (LaaD) robot
currently disinfecting the Gerald R. Ford airport in
Grand Rapids, Michigan, in an overnight time frame.
It employs electrostatic spray heads like those used
in assembly plant paint shops to atomize negatively
charged particles of an FDA-approved disinfecting
material. The electrostatic charge causes the particles
to cling to and disinfect all surfaces. Such devices could
be used to disinfect autonomous shuttles robotically
at a central depot while the vehicles are recharging.
As I write this, there’s no reliable forecast for when
this pandemic will disappear. It’s good to know engi-
neers are working on ways to help us remain safely
mobile throughout it. QCuring Car COVID: Tech solutions
to disinfecting shared cars
Disinfecting UV-C
broadcast lamps
shown integrated
into a vehicle
interior alongside
the LED dome or
reading lamps.
Smaller units
aimed at high-
touch areas could
be integrated
with the accent
lighting fixtures.