Each year for the past five years, students from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands create a car with sustainability in mind. Last year, this was Lina, the world’s first biobased car. This year, the team designed the world’s first circular car, made from biobased and recyclable materials, called Noah.
The car only uses recyclable materials, which can be easily separated at the end of the car’s life to be recycled and reused. Like Lina, the chassis, the bodywork and the interior of Noah will only be made from a biocomposite with as main component flax. The matrix, which was made from polypropylene in Lina, has been replaced by a matrix of PLA based on sugar. With this adaptation, the biocomposite will be made from 90 per cent biobased materials. The chassis will be constructed out of a sandwich panel with a honeycomb core, consisting of PLA and flax.
The car is small, seating two people, and weighs only 350 kilograms (771 pounds). Noah will be powered by 6 modular batteries, with a top speed of 100 kilometres (62 miles) per hour. The range will be, thanks to its low weight, around 240 kilometres (149 miles). The complete drivetrain has been optimized and with a gearbox called “Smesh Gear” which will reach an efficiency of 97 per cent during acceleration and even a 100 per cent efficiency at constant speeds, making Noah incredibly energy efficient.
Like Lina, Noah will be a road legal car.
The car is currently being built and will be ready this June. The team is currently collecting money to tour with Noah through Europe, to show what the car can do. For more information and how to contribute click here.
Photos: TU Eindhoven