Canadian company to make an electric car from hemp compound

A car partially made from hemp could be the catalyst in the start of a new Canadian car company.

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CANADA // A car partially made from hemp could be the catalyst in the start of a new Canadian car company. Not only will the Kestrel car be made from hemp, but it will also run on batteries. "The green industry is a huge industry. It's growing every year. Everyone is into sustainability," John Wolodko, an engineer with Alberta Innovates Technologies Futures, a provincial Crown corporation, told The Calgary Sun. Wolodko said research into the durability and longevity of the hemp material is ongoing, but the work has progressed enough that the company behind the design and engineering - Calgary's Motive Industries - is exhibiting the car at next months show in Vancouver. "This is a Canadian car company for the Canadian people to support Canada, and it was basically seeded with Canadian taxpayers' money," said the Motive president Nathan Armstrong, noting that, to date, a little less than CAN$1 million (Dh3.5 million) of public money has gone into developing the Kestrel. Henry Ford was reportedly the first to use a compound, including the natural fibre for the manufacture of car bodies. It is as strong as fibreglass but weighs less.