In the Netherlands, students at the Eindhoven University of Technology have built an electric car from flax fiber and sugar. Dubbed Noah, the two-seater weighs just 420 kg, including the battery.
The car’s chassis and interior are comprised of panels of bioplastic and flax fiber, while the body is made of flax mats injected with a biobased resin. Because the materials weigh so little, Noah’s battery weighs just 60 kg—compared with regular electric car batteries that require several hundred kg.
Once the car has completed its useful life, it can be ground down and used as raw material for other products.
Cas Verstappen, one of the students who worked on the project, tells Automotive Business Review that the project was targeted toward building awareness. “We want to show that a circular economy is already possible in complex products such as cars.”