ICICS Supported team completes Cross-Continental trek on custom Biodiesel Motorcycle

We met with Alexandre Jennison, the founder and Team Lead of BioMoto, an engineering startup focused on developing biofuel technology to reduce CO2 emissions on existing utility vehicles. Alexandre spent some time in the HATCH Makerspace. We were excited to catch up and hear all about his latest adventure.

Can you tell us a little bit about your tech / project?

My project was a biodiesel Harley-Davidson. Why? UBC and other fleet operators are committed to 85% reduction in campus operations emissions by 2030- yet many heavy-duty fleets still run on diesel. Electric garbage trucks and snowsweepers remain unproven at scale, and battery supply chains raise serious ethical and environmental concerns- such as hazardous cobalt mining conditions in the DRC or copper extraction from below the Amazon rainforest. Cost is another barrier: an electric streetsweeper can cost $450,000, compared to $250,000 for its diesel counterpart.

Over 18 months, my Integrated Engineering capstone teams and I developed technology that enables a 74% reduction in CO2 emissions on existing utility vehicles.  To prove the technology works – and to spark conversations – I installed a Kubota diesel utility engine equipped with our system into a 1999 Harley-Davidson Softail. The motorcycle became a proof of concept: a rolling demonstration that clean fuels can decarbonize the vehicles we already have.

How did ICICS play a part in this journey?

ICICS was instrumental to the project’s success. Thanks to Rob Rohling (Director) and David Roberts, who managed the Hatch makerspace, I was given access to the most capable workshop on campus. The makerspace is incredibly well-equipped, with CNC waterjet cutters, lathes, mills, and generous workspace. Not only did I have access to the space, but David personally trained me on how to use the equipment – such as the waterjet and lathe, along with other machinist skills – fundamentally enabling me to achieve the technical challenge of putting a diesel tractor engine in a motorcycle. Everything was custom-fabricated and engineered.

Beyond the tools,  ICICS welcomed me into their supportive community of entrepreneurs, researchers and academics. Being surrounded by people who are building businesses with real-world impact made the “impossible” feel normal.

What was the purpose / end goal of your cross-continental trek?

The 2,000-mile campaign aimed to prove clean fuels work today. It was not a theory on a computer — it was a live demonstration. I set out to engage students, fleet operators, and the broader public in live conversations about practical innovation: solutions that leverage existing infrastructure rather than waiting for perfect, future technologies.

Can you tell us a couple short stories about your adventure?

One of the most shocking moments was on Nacimiento-Fergusson Road along California’s Central Coast. I was stranded for over a day with a broken clutch and no cell reception when a farmer pulled over and shouted from his truck, “Hey, are you that guy from the news?” He drove me an hour and a half to the next town. What could have ended the journey instead revealed the quiet humanity that still pervades our world. 

Another highlight was spending over an hour with a design engineering professor at California Polytechnic State University, brainstorming how to integrate more hands-on, community-impacting projects into his curriculum. We are now reworking elements of his 2026 capstone course around this project’s philosophy: solving global problems at a local scale.

And in a moment I won’t forget, a motorcycle businessman who had bought and sold 4,000 bikes over four decades looked at my yellow machine and said, half-mockingly and half in disbelief: “You have one rare bird. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Would you consider it an overall success? What would you say you accomplished?

Yes. The ride is complete: 2,000 miles on clean fuel, finished January 4, 2026. I rode from Vancouver to 20 miles north of the Mexican border, overcoming funding shortfalls, mechanical failures, and long stretches of uncertainty. Along the way, I demonstrated the motorcycle at Kubota’s 630,000-square-foot Western Distribution Centre, engaged managers at one of Northern California’s largest Harley-Davidson dealerships, spoke with hundreds of students and members of the public, and was interviewed by regional news reaching approximately 20,000 households. An impromptu interview during the journey led to a video surpassing 230,000 views, extending the project’s message far beyond the road. Sponsorship did not materialize as planned — but exposure, dialogue, curriculum change, and proof of concept did. The project demonstrated that meaningful emissions reductions are possible today using existing vehicles, and that innovation does not require perfect conditions — only conviction, engineering, and community.