NOX changing the way that we paint cars.

We decided to join the Global Goals Jam because it looked like a great idea to start acting on the issues that the world is really looking to change and leave a mark. And what better to do it with the goals of the UN agenda 2030.

The team we built up was really curious, with an engineer, a comunicologist and three pedagogist. We could look at the problem and the solution with different perspectives and have a deeper view of what we came up with.

The objective we chose is number 11, sustainable cities and communities. Mexico City is one of the most polluted cities in the world so we decided to take the challenge of reducing the greenhouse gases generated by the vehicle fleet. We thought of many ideas but the one that we decided to work on its called NOX.

We started the first sprint with the actor's map method which helped us find all the institutions, persons and organizations involved with our topic. Then we collected the data on carbon emissions emitted by cars and found out the size of the vehicle fleet that exists in our city. This first research helped to see the problem within all the facts and statistics and after a discussion between possible solutions, we came with our first idea: a filter that was going to reduce the emissions of the vehicles.

The idea of the filter was thought as a transition device to the use of hybrid or electric cars since it will take a while for the citizen in the city to use them. But then we decided to carry out the second research with a survey so we could understand the car´s users and have more support for our solution. With the responses of the survey we had two other ideas, one was a campaign and the other was more focused on the use of alternative transportation.

In the second sprint, we enjoyed using the dark side method, it made us think outside the box and come up with random ideas. One of them led us to observe the crowdsourced model which anyone can rent their things for a service, like Uber or Airbnb, so we started to think of an app in which you could rent parking spaces at a certain distance to the most congested areas of the city and the use an alternative way of transportation from there to your final destination. Thinking of all the parts involved and the impact we saw it was complicated to manage the legal permissions and the idea was left aside.

We continued with the Mash-up method and we came with other ideas that could be added to our filter solution. Working more in the filter to reduce emissions, it was time for the first pitch so we could have some feedback from the experts. We presented and we received really good advice to transform the idea that looked like a magic device to a tangible and feasibility solution.

The second jam day we began with more research to make alive our project. Trying to do the storyboard method we began to face the realities of our filter. The technology to filter the gases is very good and advanced, there were many that already work but also that have to be changed in a short period of time, and that has to be thrown away, more trash four the city. We began searching for the elements or organisms that filter the oxides of nitrogen and then the final idea appeared. A painting that ate the pollution.

Yes! We found that there is a wonderful painting that eliminates the oxides of nitrogen (NOx). It is made out of titanium dioxide and they started to use it in Europe and in a hospital in Mexico City. We kept researching about this magical solution and found that it is a catalytic paint that reacts with sunlight and is able to separate the oxides of nitrogens.

Cars need painting so why isn't it a catalytic one that reduces NOx? So that is our solution.

It solves our challenge in an excellent way because it is not a filter but in reality, it is a chemical component that is always acting on pollution. It breaks into simpler elements that do not cause any harm to the environment. It is accessible and car companies could benefit from this technology.

We as Mexicans know how important it is to get involved in the environmental issues that affect our city.

So a way to find inspiration to solve these problems is by attending to the Global Goal Jam in Mexico City, where great ideas such as “NOX” are born,this project is looking to solve one of the biggest problems affecting the city, which are the greenhouse gases, so it solve it in a innovative and original way.

That is trough a catalytic painting.