The Germans were right when they built the Trabant – the car that made history throughout Europe. It was made of pressed paper, light and easy to manufacture and cheap to maintain.
Now, in the days of the aftermath that the crisis has given the auto industry, a Canadian company wants to build the first electric car that has its body built from bio-composites. Specifically, we’re talking about hemp – a relative of Cannabis.
The new car’s name is Kestrel, and a prototype has already been built. It will be shown at this year’s VÉ Conference and Trade Show in Vancouver. The four-passenger small battery-powered car will have its body built from hemp grown in Vegreville, Alberta and commercialized by Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (AITF).
This kind of hemp is being grown legally in Canada, because it contains less than 0.3 percent THC. It will give the car the essential characteristics that a truly green car should have: low weight, as few emissions as possible during manufacturing and being fully biodegradable/recyclable.
Good idea – let’s hope some crackpot will not use the car to try it and see if it burns and what happens to him if it does…
