Hemp drives green vehicle prototype; Calgary firm’s material will make lighter electric car

The green vehicle’s design will be unveiled next month at the Electric Mobility trade show in Vancouver, but the Kestrel is part of a bigger plan by a Canadian consortium — including Armstrong’s Calgary-based Motive Industries — to build an environmentally friendly car in this country.

“It’s a design program that will put all the good eggs we’ve been thinking about into one basket,” said Armstrong, Motive’s president.

Project Eve, as the currently nameless group is called, isn’t starting from scratch.

Motive had been working on an entry for the Progressive Automotive X Prize competition, which will pit vehicles that get mileage of 2.4 L/100 km or better against each other in a race.

Motive’s entry included exploring the use of a hemp-fibre composite that’s as strong as fibreglass, but lighter and less expensive.

The material will be used to replace other metal components, Armstrong said, except for the structural frame.

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