Biodegradable Cars
The BBC reported that a car made from biodegradable natural materials has passed road safety tests in the Netherlands.
The four–seater lightweight structure is made of sugar beet and flax, which takes 20% of the energy used to produce today’s aluminum or carbon –fiber based cars.
Earlier this year, a student team from Eindhoven University of Technology, unveiled LINA. LINA is pictured above. The university says, “the concept car will undergo a few final adaptations before being allowed on public roads later this month.” According to BBC San Simmons, a member of the team, was the first one to received permission to take it for a test drive.
In 2011, the first biodegradable car, the Phoenix, was constructed of bamboo, rattan, steel and nylon. The Phoenix, pictured below, was created by product designers Kenneth Cobonpue and Albercht Birkner and was built in just 10 days. The biodegradable skin was designed to last the average length of time a person keeps a car (5 years in industrialized countries, 10-20 years elsewhere) so that the car did not create unnecessary waste by lasting longer than its owner needed it. The skin was customizable and replaceable, if the owner wished to keep their car longer. This green car was a small and elegant start to a solution of a bigger problem: the waste created by old cars that outlive their purpose.
