|
The
lightweight electric car, created by students in the
Netherlands, is made of a resin derived from sugar beets and
covered with sheets of Dutch-grown flax.
"Only the wheels and suspension systems are not yet of bio-based
materials," said Yanic van Riel, one of the developers from the
TU/Ecomotive team at the Eindhoven University of Technology.
The structure of the car they have called Lina has a similar
strength-weight ratio to that of fibreglass and weighs only 310
kg (about 684 pounds).
But the prototype has not yet passed crash tests, because the
material "will not bend like metal, but break", said the team's
leader Noud van de Gevel.
Demands to reduce air pollution and tackle climate change have
pushed auto companies towards alternative designs, but most are
still require a great deal of energy to make.
"Energy that is saved while driving the car is now spent during
the production phase," van de Gevel said.
The TU/Ecomotive team plans to test drive Lina later this year,
once given the green light by the Netherlands Vehicle Authority.
(Reporting by Jim Drury, additional reporting by Mark Hanrahan;
Writing by Maayan Lubell and Robin Pomeroy)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
