A vehicle made from biodegradable materials made its debut in the Netherlands in 2018. The project was conceived and executed by a group of students at the Eindhoven University of Technology in conjunction with their start-up TU-ecomotive in the Netherlands who believe they have found the solution to sustainable car manufacturing.
The EM-04 Lina is a small and compact city car that is designed to comfortably sit and convey four people. Their design is made up of components created from what’s known as bio-based composites, as well as bio-based plastics. Basically, these materials are derived from plants.
The composite is made from flax, while the bio-plastic is created using sugar beets to offer extra stiffness to the composite in the building process.
Once pieced together the car is powered by battery packs and two DC motors. The result is a car capable of reaching around 50 miles per hour and weighs only 310kg.
The team of students say their creation could be an alternative to the sustainability tactics currently being used by the car industry.
“In recent years, improving efficiency has been the focus in the Automotive industry,” TU-ecomotive said.
“While optimizing fuel efficiency to reduce emissions is a positive development, it is accompanied by negative side effects. Car manufacturers opt for lightweight materials such as aluminum and carbon fiber to create lighter, more efficient cars.
“Processing of these materials, however, requires 5 to 6 times more energy than steel, the material that they replace.
Consequently, energy that is saved while driving the car is now spent during the production phase. In addition, recyclability of these lightweight materials is lacking significantly compared to steel.”
