Fully Recyclable, Enormously Energy Efficient and Ready for Carsharing: Noah

The circular economy was a leading concept during his design process: According to his developers at the Eindhoven University of Technology, Noah now represents the world’s first circular and fully recyclable car.

The two-seater is running entirely on electricity; his chassis, body panels and interior are made from a bio-composite with flax as the main component. The bio-composite of Noah’s big sister Lina has been reinvented to be even more sustainable in both production and recyclability. The matrix of polypropylene has been replaced by a matrix of PLA (sugar). With this adaptation, the bio-composite will be produced with materials that are over 90 percent made from renewable resources. The chassis will be constructed out of a sandwich panel combining the bio-composite with a honeycomb structured core from sugar (PLA). Due to the fact that the entire sandwich panel only consists of two materials (PLA and flax), it is now fully recyclable.

Noah’s weight has been reduced to only 350 kilograms. Furthermore, the complete drivetrain has been optimized and the gearbox called “Smesh Gear” will reach an efficiency of 97 percent during acceleration and even a 100 percent efficiency at constant speeds. Due to this, the entire drivetrain of the car is enormously energy efficient. Six modular batteries power the electromotors. Furthermore, they enable easy battery swapping and the possibility to introduce better battery technology when available. For Noah to be future ready the car is equipped with NFC scanners in the doors which make it perfect for carsharing. With this NFC scanner, any mobile device can open the door, Noah will immediately recognize the user and set the car to his or her personal preferences.

Photo: Keyshot by Luxion / Eindhoven University of Technology

(GR22018S)