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Canadian EV to be Pimped Out with Hemp Bio Composite Interior

Silvia Pikal — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 22:11:40 +0000

While hemp can be used for food, textiles, paper, fabric, and fuel oil, the misunderstood crop breeds fear amongst politicians in the United States and has led to the crop being illegal to grow without a DEA permit, which is pretty hard to get. But growing hemp is legal in Canada. Canadian company Motive Industries has taken advantage of this, and have been working on an electric car made of hemp plastic. Touted as Canada’s first bio composite electric car, the Motive Kestrel’s top speed is 135 km/h, with a range of 160 km. The ultralight car is a 3 door 4 passenger electric vehicle, and packs 16 kWh of lithium battery juice to keep the car going 160 kilometers per charge.

Now Motive has announced that bio composite materials derived from hemp and flax fibre will also be used in the car’s interior. They will be used to create the headliner, door panels, door trim, floor tub and center tunnel, instrument panel and the center console panel. The prototype should be coming out sometime this year, with a production goal of 2012.

The advantages of using bio composites over traditional materials include reducing dependence on fossil fuels, reducing waste, cost, and being able to produce the materials right in Canada. The materials are made from hemp mats produced by Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures (AITF), from hemp stock grown in Vegreville, Alberta. AITF is technically owned by the Government of Alberta. Considering the US government has a major fear of hemp, this could give Canada a leg up in the automotive industry.

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First Kestrel Hemp electric car photos unveiled

Fabrizio Pilato — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:03:03 +0000

Motive Industries has just sent us the first images of the Kestrel 4 passenger electric car. What makes this car special is that it’s body will be made of hemp plastic. Although this green electric car is not due out until late 2012, that doesn’t stop the company from continuously giving us small hits to keep us going. Just a refresher, the Kestrel is expected to reach 55 mph with a range of 25-100 miles before recharging. A working prototype is expected mid-next year, with production version available in 2013.

Motive Unveils Kestrel Design
Calgary, AB – September 14, 2010 – Following the unveiling of the Kestrel design at the Vancouver EV 2010 VÉ Conference and Trade Show, Motive releases Kestrel design images.

“We have received numerous requests for images of the Kestrel car, and now that the design has been officially released, we are more than happy to satisfy that request”, said Meagan McKeage, VP Operations at Motive.

The Kestrel is a 4 passenger electric car designed to appeal to the city driver, who for the most part is traveling alone or with one other passenger. Part of the design criteria was to make a compact city vehicle while not compromising interior space. A unique feature on the car is the location of the front wheels making it a very cab forward design. The engineering team made this possible by having the doors forward shut line open right up into the wheel well, creating ingress/egress without compromise. The very cab forward profile and compact front end make it easy to maneuver in tight traffic.

VP Design, Darren McKeage states “To design a vehicle with presence I often look to how nature visually communicates a purpose in its purist form. For the Kestrel I wanted to create an image of athleticism and robustness to stand out against a sea of large sedans and SUV’s. I was influenced by animals like grey hounds and sharks that have these barrel chests and narrow waists that communicate strength. I’ve captured that in the design through the wheel arches and upswept form in the rocker area. These features also accentuate the wheels helping create a planted stance.”

The Motive designed Kestrel is slated to be one of the cars in the Project Eve line up. Further details on the intention of Project Eve were released in a press release this morning put out by the consortium. Project Eve will be a consortium of Canadian companies who have come together to help advance the progress of bringing electric mobility to Canada. By working together, the companies intend to improve their respective technologies for the benefit of the Canadian marketplace. “As a co-founder of Project Eve, we are very excited to see this initiative coming together and gaining ground. We believe this is an important step for Canada and are extremely happy to be a part of such an innovative group of companies”, said Nathan Armstrong President of Motive.

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Motive Industries’ Cannabis Kestrel cars rear end exposed

Fabrizio Pilato — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:11:01 +0000

That first hit of news from Motive Industries and their cannabis composite electric car was real smooth, now a second has come down the pipe and it’s even nicer than the first. And after an influx of inundated cannabis cracks at the companies innovative use of hemp materials, Motive Industries has taken it upon themselves to release more specifications on their “green machine.” What we can tell you now is that the 850kg (1874 lb) vehicle is ultralight, a three door that can carry four, and packs 16 kWh of lithium battery juice to blissfully propel you 160 kilometers per charge. You can top it out at 135 km/h (84 mph), but that won’t keep you buzzing for long.

A “teaser” photo was put out showing the Kestrel’s rear end. The panels look typical with a fancy paint job to make it pop. You’re not going to notice hemp plastic when put next to petro-plastic, it’s just one of those “nice to know” things.

A prototype is due out next year, this rendering shows us a bit, but you know how it is in the cannabis world. Show me all the goods first, then i’ll decide.

Kestrel Specs:
- Architecture: Compact 4 passengers, 3 doors
- Drive train: Electric, single speed
- Vehicle weight: 850kg
- Top speed: 135 km/h
- Range: 160km
- Battery: 16 kWh lithium

Manufacturing Specs:
- Construction type: Bio-fiber based composite
- Technology partners: Undisclosed
- Manufacturing partners: Undisclosed
- Production prototype tour target: 2011
- Production manufacturing target: 2012
- Transport Canada Certification target: Late 2012

[Motive Industries]

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Cannabis electric car made in Canada, hopefully doesn’t go up in smoke

Fabrizio Pilato — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:27:50 +0000

Canadian company Motive Industries has announced their plan to test a prototype vehicle which is made of Hemp. The car is electric, and is expected to reach 55 mph with a range of 25-100 miles before recharging. CBC is reporting that several battery options will be available making the hemp electric vehicle affordable to many people.

The material used to manufacturer the body is impact-resistant composite from hemp mats; these are supplied by Alberta Innovates-Technology Future (AITF), while hemp is grown in Vegreville, Atlanta. Here’s the kicker, AITF is Crown corporation, owned by the Canadian government.

“Plus, it’s illegal to grow it in the U.S., so it actually gives Canada a bit of a market advantage,” said Motive Industries president Nathan Armstrong to the CBC. Let’s hope the U.S. doesn’t stand in the way. The first attempt known to use hemp in a car was in 1941 by Henry Ford, that didn’t go over to well and saw no mass-production. Let’s hope this version doesn’t go up in smoke.

Cannabis electric car to be made in Canada

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