Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
It may have a shell made of hemp, wheels made of potatoes and be powered by fuel made from fermented wheat, but it can still do 0-60mph in under four seconds and has a top speed of 150mph.
This is Eco One, the ultimate green racing car.
The car is 95pc recyclable and biodegradable and the ultimate in environmentally friendly engineering.
The hemp shell can be thrown on the compost heap and only the chasis is made from steel and aluminium, which can both be recycled.
It has been put together by boffins at a Warwick research centre but yesterday it was on show at the John Innes Centre, in Colney, and school children were being given a chance to get to grips with the way it works.
Chloe Sims, 15, from the Sir John Leman High School in Beccles, said: “I think the materials are really unusual - you wouldn't actually think you could make a car out of plants. Nowadays there are a lot of plastics used and I've realise you don't actually need those kind of things.”
Robert Mills, 15, from Little Melton said: “It's a brilliant technological development which we should see coming into the motoring industry. As oil increases and supply diminishes we need to find other alternatives.”
Ben Wood, project manager from Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre said he wanted to make a racing car rather than the usual slow eco-vehicles that can run on chip fat. Pushing the boundaries of eco-technologies was the company's goal back in November when it started developed the idea for Eco One.
Justin Pryce, 15, of Norwich, and a pupil at Hethersett High School said: “I would like to drive it - it reminds me of other sports cars so it's got lots of sales potential. Loads of people think eco cars are slow and strange - but this can go 150mph.”
The car was being used as part of a project to help school children across the county learn about bioenergy as part of a three-day science event.
Eco One was brought to the John Innes Centre by one of the scientists who had seen the vehicle at the Eden Project in Cornwall and thought it had fantastic learning potential for the young minds seeking out renewable resources.
Dr Phil Smith, coordinator of the Teacher Scientist Network based at The John Innes Centre said: “Science for Tomorrow is a three-day event for the pupils where they have had an introduction into bioenergy.
“This is the second session and they had such a good time in the laboratory I thought what a great way of continuing that process of learning by inviting the car to the site.”
Eco One Fact File
The car cost £20,000 to make
The shell of the body is made using crushed hemp and rapeseed resin.
Potatoes have been used to form the tyres.
Fuel for the car has been made from fermenting wheat to produce a bioethanol liquid.
The brakes are made from a mixture of natural powders and fibres mashed together.
Eco One can go from 0 - 60 mph in four seconds.
Its fastest speed is 150mph
The car is 95% recyclable or biodegradable.
https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/con...gory=news&itemid=NOED28 Jun 2007 08:54:31:540
This is Eco One, the ultimate green racing car.
The car is 95pc recyclable and biodegradable and the ultimate in environmentally friendly engineering.
The hemp shell can be thrown on the compost heap and only the chasis is made from steel and aluminium, which can both be recycled.
It has been put together by boffins at a Warwick research centre but yesterday it was on show at the John Innes Centre, in Colney, and school children were being given a chance to get to grips with the way it works.
Chloe Sims, 15, from the Sir John Leman High School in Beccles, said: “I think the materials are really unusual - you wouldn't actually think you could make a car out of plants. Nowadays there are a lot of plastics used and I've realise you don't actually need those kind of things.”
Robert Mills, 15, from Little Melton said: “It's a brilliant technological development which we should see coming into the motoring industry. As oil increases and supply diminishes we need to find other alternatives.”
Ben Wood, project manager from Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre said he wanted to make a racing car rather than the usual slow eco-vehicles that can run on chip fat. Pushing the boundaries of eco-technologies was the company's goal back in November when it started developed the idea for Eco One.
Justin Pryce, 15, of Norwich, and a pupil at Hethersett High School said: “I would like to drive it - it reminds me of other sports cars so it's got lots of sales potential. Loads of people think eco cars are slow and strange - but this can go 150mph.”
The car was being used as part of a project to help school children across the county learn about bioenergy as part of a three-day science event.
Eco One was brought to the John Innes Centre by one of the scientists who had seen the vehicle at the Eden Project in Cornwall and thought it had fantastic learning potential for the young minds seeking out renewable resources.
Dr Phil Smith, coordinator of the Teacher Scientist Network based at The John Innes Centre said: “Science for Tomorrow is a three-day event for the pupils where they have had an introduction into bioenergy.
“This is the second session and they had such a good time in the laboratory I thought what a great way of continuing that process of learning by inviting the car to the site.”
Eco One Fact File
The car cost £20,000 to make
The shell of the body is made using crushed hemp and rapeseed resin.
Potatoes have been used to form the tyres.
Fuel for the car has been made from fermenting wheat to produce a bioethanol liquid.
The brakes are made from a mixture of natural powders and fibres mashed together.
Eco One can go from 0 - 60 mph in four seconds.
Its fastest speed is 150mph
The car is 95% recyclable or biodegradable.
https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/con...gory=news&itemid=NOED28 Jun 2007 08:54:31:540
