World’s First Biodegradable Car Made Of Sugar

It’s made of out sugar, well not quite. Students from the TU/Ecomotive team at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands have produced the world first biodegradable car made entirely of a resin made from sugar beets and covered sheets of flax, a fibrous crop grown in the Netherlands.

Reuter Reports, the fully-electric vehicle, dubbed ‘Lina’ is able to carry four adults and travel at speeds of up to 80km/h. Lina’s body structure has a similar strength to weight ratio to that of carbon fibre – which allows a kerb weight of just 310 kg. Only the wheels, suspension, and EV powertrain are not yet made up of biodegradable materials. 

However, the vehicle has not yet passed crash tests because the material doesn’t bend like metal, but breaks - explains development team leader Noud van de Gevel.

The team behind Lina intend to road test the vehicle later in the year, upon obtaining approval from the Netherlands Vehicle Authority.