Cyanobacteria biofilm that produces ethylene, cool car, kicks, and shades all biobased, cell-based meat brisket, and more: The Digest’s Top 8 Innovations for the week of October 22nd

#4 Meet Luca, TU/ecomotive’s latest biobased car

In the Netherlands, a student team and an Israel startup have designed and constructed a prototype electric car with numerous biobased elements, including coconut fiber and horsehair seats and a flax chassis. Dubbed Luca, the zero-waste vehicle was designed by TU/ecomotive, a student company at Eindhoven University of Technology, and UBQ, a Tel Aviv-Yafo-based company that converts household trash into plastic.

Other materials in Luca include recycled polyethylene terephthalate and polypropylene sourced from ocean waste and a tube frame from recycled aluminum. The car also uses modular battery packs so that more efficient batteries can be easily incorporated as technology improves.

TU/ecomotive will now work to get Luca a license plate to show a car with so many renewable components can be street legal. The group designs and builds an electric car every year to demonstrate new, sustainable concepts in vehicles.

More on the story, here.