FOODTUBES NEWS UPDATES

FOODTUBES NEWS UPDATES FOODTUBES NEWS UPDATES

2 FEB 2011. Oxford, UK – PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION – MEDIA ARE HEREBY AUTHORISED TO USE FOODTUBES IMAGES (CONTACT US FOR MORE IMAGES).

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Issued 2^nd FEB 2011.

POLLUTION FREE UK TRANSPORT SYSTEM – WILL CREATE A NEW GLOBAL INDUSTRY.

FOODTUBES – THE TRANSPORT INTERNET – GOODS-IN & WASTE-OUT FREIGHT TRANSPORT – RUNNER-UP IN THE ST. ANDREWS PRIZE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT 2008:

Before the deadline of 21^st January 2011, The Foodtubes Project applied for a Regional Growth Fund (RGF) grant of UK £1 million from the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in London. It will be five weeks before an RGF shortlist is published. As announced in January by the RGF Chairman, Lord Heseltine, the RGF is allocating £1.2 billion to about 1,000 projects that will create employment and expand business. Foodtubes estimates that to install and operate Circuits across the whole UK will create 60,000 new jobs; will reduce Freight costs by 85%; will improve the security of deliveries – whatever the weather; will significantly cut street-level traffic pollution; and will reduce global warming gases and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) by 8% or more every year.

The joint-inventor and project co-ordinator, Mr Noel Hodson, says; “Foodtubes is the least polluting and most efficient freight transport system yet devised.” Mr Hodson is also a Director of US based ISUFT (International Society for Underground Freight Transport).

The £1 million grant will pay for the computer and desk-top modelling that the FOODTUBES TEAM needs to produce two working Blueprints – The Engineering Specifications Blueprints and The Commercial Business Plans Blueprints. Then, the following stage is to build a 2km to 5km full-sized demonstration Foodtubes Circuit, in Oxford, UK, which will cost about £6 million. The Demonstration Circuit will be used to persuade City and local and national governments, and private operators to build transport Circuits. For example: the Circuit recommended to the inner London (dense-urban) district of Croydon, which has 130,000 homes and more than 100 food-outlets or shops, will be 80km of pipelines and 400 entrances/exits (terminals) – it will cost £400 million to install; will take 700 lorries a day off the streets of Croydon; and will make up to £60 million annual profits. Foodtubes is applying to the European Commission in Brussels under FP7 funds for the £6 million needed for the Demonstration Circuit and marketing budget. All such Circuits will inter-connect to eventually form The Transport Internet.

The concept has been further developed by the 20 person Foodtubes team since their success at The St Andrews Prize for the Environment 2008 competition (May 2008). The innovative FOODTUBES system loads food and other consumer products into computer addressed and controlled aluminium, lightweight bullet shaped capsules 2 metres long by 1 metre high (1.57 cubic metres), which are propelled through polyethylene pipelines by electric linear induction motors (LIMs) at speeds from 1 kph to 100 kph. Europe is highly skilled at installing such pipelines. Europe presently has more than 300,000 km of large diameter pipes carrying water, oil and gas, on land, under cities and under sea. The USA has more than 500,000 km of such pipelines.

Noel Hodson asks “Would any sane transport planner suggest that all water, oil and gas pipelines should be closed and their vital, huge, daily cargos put into vehicles to be transported by road or rail? Food is as vital as water. The FOODTUBES Project makes food and other goods as easy and inexpensive as water to transport through pipelines.”

CONTACTS:

Noel Hodson – Tel 00-44-1865-760994 Mobile 07713 681216 noel@noelhodson.com

RGF funds officer Sujatha Krishnan – Tel 00-44-20-7215-6758 sujatha.krishnan@bis.gov.uk

Google “Foodtubes” for history & details.

COMMERCIAL MODEL http://www.noelhodson.com/index_files/ftubesfinancials_28Sep07_v15.xls

ENGINEERING http://www.noelhodson.com/index_files/Foodtubes-pipelaying-1dec09.pdf

TWO MINUTES ON YOU TUBE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0SgwSg3Q9E

(Mr) Noel HODSON

Co-ordinator

The Foodtubes Project

"THE TRANSPORT INTERNET - REALLY FAST FOOD"

2008 - St Andrew's Prize for the Environment