Innovation

Personal projects, real hardware.

Side builds where Tim pushes the envelope on renewable energy technology in his own shop. Different rules than client work, same engineering rigor.

Innovation 01

Designer, builder, rider

Off-grid and on-camera: a custom electric Honda Rebel

Personal project, featured on reality TV

Challenge: Take a 250cc gas-burning Honda Rebel and replace its internal combustion engine with a clean, drop-in electric powertrain that still rides like a real motorcycle.
What I did: Designed a custom electric drive package as a direct mechanical replacement for the Rebel's 250cc engine. Built and integrated the motor, battery pack, controller, and charging system by hand in the shop. Tuned the ride for real-world use, not a science fair.
Outcome: A clean, road-ready electric motorcycle that became a personal favorite, served as the off-grid power source for Tim and Meredith's beach wedding in Carpinteria, California, and earned a turn on reality TV.

Innovation 02

Designer, owner-builder, general contractor

Personal build, Ojochal, Costa Rica (2022–2023)

Challenge: Build a comfortable, low-maintenance home in a hot, humid jungle climate where mold, rot, and stagnant air defeat conventional construction.
What I did: Designed the two-bedroom layout and structural concept in 3D, then financed and built it on the ground in Ojochal with local crews and locally sourced materials. Elevated the floor plate off the jungle floor and stretched the roof into deep overhangs to drive constant cross-ventilation, shade the walls, and keep the interior dry. Wrapped the living space with an expansive deck and dropped a hot tub straight into the decking.
Outcome: A finished home that breathes with the climate instead of fighting it: airy interiors, almost no mold pressure, deep shaded outdoor living, and a build completed in 2022–2023 with a local team.

Innovation 03

Concept lead, systems designer

Personal R&D concept pitch

Challenge: Natural gas combustion is usually treated as pure waste. Its exhaust is mostly CO2 and water vapor, the exact inputs plants need to grow.
What I did: Designed a closed-loop concept that pairs a high-efficiency natural gas generator with a hydroponic or drip irrigation network. Cooled and filtered exhaust feeds CO2 and warm water directly into the root zone, while electricity and heat run the greenhouse. Worked out a 10kW reference system producing 566 lbs of CO2, 19 gallons of water, and 1.2M BTU of heat per day at roughly $0.15/kWh.
Outcome: A pitched concept for grove and greenhouse operators to cut water use, sequester carbon into edible plant matter, and turn a fuel bill into food, water, heat, and power from one piece of equipment.

Innovation 04

Concept lead, systems designer

Personal concept design

Challenge: Farms need three things at once: clean electricity, irrigation, and zero-emission fuel for heavy equipment. Today they buy each one separately, and diesel still runs the tractor. States are starting to catch up, Virginia just defined agrivoltaics in law to expand solar on working farmland, which opens the door for systems that do all three jobs at once.
What I did: Designed a hydrogen-producing twist on standard center-pivot irrigation. Seven custom segments form an inverted, reinforced pivot built to carry 2x to 3x the normal weight (6,000 to 10,000 lb), with a 1,280 ft irrigation radius wrapped in solar panels. Around 1,500 kWh per day of on-pivot generation drives an electrolyzer that produces 30 kg of hydrogen per day, stored and dispensed on-site at low pressure for mobile refueling. Two pivots together fuel a full day of work for a proposed fuel cell version of John Deere's SESAM 2 electric tractor, while the pivot keeps doing its day job of watering the field.
Outcome: A single piece of farm infrastructure that irrigates crops, generates clean power, and produces and dispenses the hydrogen needed to run the tractor that works the same field.