Luca is a car manufactured almost entirely from recycled materials. This is also the result of several months of work by a group of students from the Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands).
They started in February 2019 with the goal of producing electric cars made almost entirely from waste. The result of their work is a sporty-looking plug-in car, with the peculiarity that the chassis, body, windows, interior, and finishes are made from recyclable materials.
For the chassis, the students from the Eindhoven University of Technology used sandwich panels developed in cooperation with several companies. The exterior is made from flax fibers and recycled ocean plastic, and this combination provides sufficient strength. The chassis is made from PET plastic bottles (the most common beverage bottle) and recycled aluminum.
Interior with coconut hair and horsehair
Luca is a two-seater with a combination of coconut hair and horsehair. The central console is made from plastic additives in household waste. There are details of recyclable PET on the dashboard, which can be visually and tactilely imitated by suede.
The final life cycle will involve recycling the car: since it is made from materials that have already been recycled, it is also possible to recycle these materials again. “To improve the efficiency of the process, we will ensure that the materials can be easily separated so that we can produce the materials in the purest form without contamination,” explained its creator.
