Here’s one way to get college students to go to class: Assign them to build things with cannabis. Several Canadian companies are teaming up with polytechnic schools in Alberta, Quebec and Toronto to make an electric vehicle out of hemp. The cars will hold up to three passengers, reach 55 miles an hour and go for up to 100 miles without having to be recharged. The car, dubbed the Kestrel, is part of Canada’s push for EVs, called Project EVE.
The hemp design isn’t just intended to get free labor out of college students. Henry Ford actually built a car from hemp fiber. The material is similar to the carbon fiber commonly found in race cars (and bikes): It’s light but strong. However, hemp fiber is much more energy-efficient to produce than carbon fiber because it doesn’t require high heat or multiple chemical processes. Hemp beats out other plant fibers because it grows readily without much water or pesticide. This might all sound familiar to hemp advocates.
And there’s one other benefit: according to Nathan Armstrong of Motive Industries, which will design the car body: “It’s illegal to grow it in the U.S., so it actually gives Canada a bit of a market advantage.” The U.S. does allow the import of processed hemp. Our bland neighbors to the north are verily mocking our fear of all things cannabis!
But about that model name: Kestrel is eerily reminiscent of Edsel — and wouldn’t the Brownie be so much better anyway?