I know, I know another concept… but body panels made from locally grown hemp, water based paint, solar panels, manufacturing energy efficiency…this is more than just a car concept, this is a sustainable process that shows that there is more to sustainability in the automotive industry than just fuel efficiency.
Fuel efficiency is probably the most important factor in greening the road, but we mustn’t forget how we are making these vehicles. With around 50 million cars manufactured each year, how we make them has a huge impact on the environment as well.
Mindful of this, Lotus has taken a holistic approach with their Eco Elise roadster, endeavoring to reduce the car’s environmental impact by focusing on how it is made as well as how it performs:
Process:
- Creating cleaner manufacturing processes
- Using sustainable materials
- Reducing carbon impact of logistics
Performance:
- Developing renewable energy generation
- Promoting efficient driving techniques
- Reducing vehicle weight to improve fuel efficiency
By using the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Lotus has taken great care to reduce the amount of energy that is used in their process and the amount of waste that is created during manufacturing as well as at the end of the vehicle’s life. At their Hethel England headquarters they recycle 57% of their waste and have been able to reduce electricity consumption by 14%, gas 30% and water 11% from their 2006 levels.
Working in conjunction with Du Pont, Lotus has developed a totally water-based paint system. This paint solution includes primer, color coat and lacquer and greatly reduce the amount of solvent emissions. This paint has a very low cure temperature allowing them save energy during the painting process.
Lotus uses Hemp composites in the body and interior of the Eco Elise. Hemp is a rapidly renewable resource that takes very little energy to produce. Mixed with a polyester resin the hemp forms the body panels and the seats. While the resin is not recyclable they are in the process of finding a recyclable replacement. The seats upholstery is made from an eco-friendly wool that uses no dye and little processing. It is durable and biodegradable. Finally under your feet, you’ll find carpets made from sisal, another sustainable crop.
By utilizing local farms for their materials and having all their facilities in close proximity they are able to reduce the amount emissions created by the supply chain. They carefully monitor their logistics to make sure the path their materials travel is as efficient as possible. They also use packaging that they recycle many times over.
Lotus has taken several steps to make sure their vehicle performs as efficiently as possible. First they have followed the “Performance through light weight” philosophy. Reducing the vehicles overall weight improves the handling and braking performance, and reduces the energy required to accelerate the car. They utilize lightweight wheels that reduce the unsprung mass and contribute a weight saving of approximately 15.8 kg (34.8 lbs) over the already light Elise wheels. They also use an exceptionally lightweight stereo and speaker system from Alpine saving 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs). Along with a host of other small weight reductions they are able to reduce the vehicles overall weight another 32 kg (70.5 lbs) less than the already super light standard Elise S.
Like the new Prius the Eco Elise sports solar panels on its roof. These solar panels supplement the power needed by the electrical systems, saving energy that would otherwise be drained from the engine and impact fuel economy.
Finally the Eco Elise utilizes the instrument panel to assist the driver in driving more efficiently. Lotus cars are known for their red light shifting prompts that help the driver time their shifting to maximize speed and power. The Eco Elise employs a system of green light prompts that help the driver time their gear changes for maximum fuel efficiency.
In addition to all these efforts, Lotus is also working on a “Tri-fuel” engine that would run on gas, ethanol or methanol. This is still in concept and they haven’t shared actual performance numbers, however, their lifecycle approach is intended to be feasible for mass production and hopefully be picked up by other car manufacturers. It’s great to see a company approaching sustainability in ways that look beyond the tail pipe. The ideal would be car with killer fuel efficiency that takes this environmentally friendly manufacturing approach. Wouldn’t it be great if the Fisker Karma, the Tesla Roadster or the Toyota Prius were made with hemp and water soluble paint?
The Eco Elise will be displayed in the Greener Driving Pavilion at the British International Motor Show from 23rd July until 3rd August, so if you’re out that way stop in an check it out.
Sources: Lotus & Photos from Autoblog
I just stopped by your blog and thought I would say hello. I like your site design. Looking forward to reading more down the road.
This is great. You really should hear more about how cars are made and what is being done to clean up that aspect.
So if I crash it and it catches on fire will I get high?
This is an awesome looking car. How much is it going to cost when they make it?
Stalin, these are the myths that have been perpetuated, preventing hemp from being accepted as a valuable resource. No, you will not get high; hemp is not marijuana. Problem is, the US government doesn’t seem to know that either, which is why it is so difficult to get approval to grow hemp.
I really like the tri-fuel engine concept. Methanol is one idea that has been put forward for a synthetic fuel, since it could be manufactured chemically from water, atmospheric CO2, and electricity. Cars should be designed to use as many different energy sources as can be managed, so that whatever gas alternatives are available in a given area can be used.
Why is everything Lotus does so cool?
Also, I like that they are of shortening the distance traveled by various materials along the supply chain. I am curious what fraction of the total shipping this represents, compared to the final shipping of the car to the customer.
Beautiful car, better concepts, and no U.S. 1930’s automotive group-think and no crippling U.S. Congress, with ‘lost in the 30’s ‘ attitudes towards hemp. Hemp seeds as well as algae produce bio-diesel, and diesel engines are 30% more efficient than spark ignition engines due to thermodynamic laws. Why not go diesel or even diesel-electric hybrid? The Yanks can’t seem to do it either, but BMW, Mercedes and various other European manufacturers seize this advantage wholeheartedly - Why God, Why?
Us Yanks are just that, yanks. Common sense has no rank in our political system. I think these companies are doing a very noble act. I hope some of that European open-mindedness is adopted by our uppers.
Those solar panels are a waste of space because everyone who buys a lotus is going to leave it closed up in the garage for most of it’s days. Very little sunlight will reach those panels. cool car though.
That’s stupid. I’m going to buy a Lotus and I plan on showing it off. ….Jerk.
@Zack
I have to disagree. Whether it drives 1 mile or 100,000 miles a year the solar panels increase the driving efficiency and therefore are not a waste. You could argue that any car that sits in someone garage as a show piece is a waste, but this is still a great example of sustainable process and design.
@Zack
I also disagree. My Elise is my only car and does a 30mile commute every day and is in the open air 50 hours a week. Many people in the UK use their Elise/VX220 daily and don’t have a garage to store them.
“This is still in concept and they haven’t shared actual performance numbers, however, the importance of this is their lifecycle approach is intended to be feasible for mass production and hopefully be picked up by other car manufacturers.”
Unfortunately, this means don’t expect it anytime soon, if ever, and it will cost you an arm and a leg. GM couldn’t pick up and roll with a new idea if its life depended on it.
Also they have found hemp to be one of the most efficient biofuel crops. I don’t smoke weed, but the whole thing with pot being illegal is crazy, it is basically because of lobbying back in the day from the dupont company so they could corner the paper market with thier trees.
Look at these amazing facts and demand at least industrial hemp be made legal
Hemp paper doesn’t require toxic bleaching chemicals. It can be whitened with hydrogen peroxide, which doesn’t poison waterways as chloride and bleach–the chemicals used in making wood pulp paper–do.
Paper made from hemp lasts hundreds of years longer than wood-pulp paper, which decomposes and yellows with age. Hemp paper resists decomposition and does not yellow with age.
The Library of Congress found that, “While the hemp paper in volumes 300-400 years old is still strong, 97% of the books, printed between 1900 and 1937 on tree paper, will be useable for less than 50 years.” Hemp paper can be recycled 7 to 8 times, compared with only 3 times for wood pulp paper.
The USDA reported in 1916 that an acre of hemp produced as much paper as four acres of trees annually, and that single hemp acre grows back every year
The car is awesome. American motor companies won’t increase fuel efficiency even though they are making our cars less and less desirable on the world market. We saw a Lotus at a restaurant and fell in love immediately. Then again, its the 22nd century now. WHERE ARE THE FLYING CARS PROMISED IN “THE JETSONS”?
Those solar panels might be good for, what? 10 Watts? W00t!
I’ll happily take a plain old Elise (or Exige) for half the cost.
Solar paint
The only gain of doing these concept vehicles is 2-fold: the participating engineering teams get to put it on their resume, and the company gets to say “Us too! We care, honest!”.