In today’s time, people have been searching for ways and innovations to make use of cannabis to get the most out of its benefits.
Cannabis now is not only used for smoking or to make you high. It can also help treat various medical conditions. Researchers have been innovating to make use of cannabis as a treatment for cancer and cancer-related symptoms.
People will never stop creating new products out of precious cannabis because nobody can resist the potentials of the plant.
The First Cannabis-Derived Car
Cannabis is making a noise in the world of automobiles. I don’t know if you have heard of a car made from the hemp plant.
If it seems familiar to you or you might have heard some news regarding this, then you are not mistaken, indeed.
In the year 1941, Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company, has been thinking and researching about a car made entirely from the hemp plant, one of the cannabis categories.
Henry Ford was able to build a hemp-derived car that was fueled by hemp biofuel. It is considered the greenest car ever in history, long before the arrival of electric powered vehicles.
Why Was It Built?
The conceptualization of eco-friendly cars has been derived from the world’s worst problem today, climate change.
With all the problems happening now like global warming and ozone layers getting weaker, researchers finally decided to make an innovation without harming the environment.
By this, people are leaving the engine combustion behind as it is one of the leading producers of hazardous chemical compounds like carbon dioxide.
Also, Ford was hoping to build something that could resist massive impact like a car crash without giving at least a scratch. At that year, there was also a shortage of metal.
Finally, after twelve long years, Henry Ford was able to make this idea come into realization by showcasing the first car made from the hemp plant and fueled with hemp oil or vegetable oil.
The panels of the car were made from seventy percent of a mixture of wheat straw, sisal and hemp plant. The thirty percent was from the resin binder. Altogether were molded using hydraulic pressure of 1500lbs PSI. The car’s tubular welded frame was the only mental made in the whole car.
Durability
It was reported that the car was lighter as compared to steel cars for about 300lbs. The inventor also brags that the vehicle can withstand an impact of ten folds.
According to several car tests reported by Henry Ford, the car can handle an impact without a dent as it is ten times tougher compared to steel.
During the car show of the hemp-derived car, Henry Ford used an ax and attempted to cut through the body of the car, but it was a failure. The ax just bounced back, proving that indeed the car derived from hemp is stronger and tougher than steel cars.
Moreover, Rudolph Diesel, father of diesel motor, was also part of the collaboration for the hemp-derived car. He was the one responsible for the engine to be able to run using hemp oil or vegetable oil.
What Happened To The Car?
Due to the occurrence of World War II, the production of all automobiles, including this car, was discontinued. After WWII, they started the production again but eventually abandoned it because the energy was organized for the recovery efforts from the war.
Coincidentally, the price of gasoline during that year dropped significantly, along with the ban on illegal cannabis plants.
Nonetheless, the car was not able to be a showcase in the museum; it continues to be the rise of design for innovation.
Now, a lot more have implanted the prevention of emitting greenhouse gasses, and legalization of cannabis in a lot of states could have been a better setting for Henry Ford’s to realize again.
The Kestrel
Kestrel is a hemp-derived car, named after a bird species. It is considered the most Eco-friendly vehicle as of this generation.
The eco-friendly car is generated from the hemp, a cannabis category. It drives approximately 90 kilometers per hour powered BY TM4 Electrodynamics Systems.
Although the Kerstel demands to be replenished for every one hundred sixty kilometers hustle.
Illegality of Cannabis
Hemp cultivation remains questionable up until today. It cannot complain that the materials used in the car were cost-efficient and friendly to the environment and mother nature.
Thus, the generation of hemp plants exhibits an incredible amount of potential in the world of auto and engineering.
Fortunately, in Canada, where Kerstel was built, the government is enthusiastic in investigating hemp and its advantages for the atmosphere, climate, and environment.
Impact Resistant
The car was made from the combination of stalks from hemp plant and resin. Altogether, it made a tough and resistant to any impact car.
In comparison to steel cars or average cars, Kerstel’s composition made it efficient and adequate performance.
On top of that, it acknowledges to the eco standards that we have established today.
Although the eco-friendly car, Kerstel, is not prepared for production yet, it has already made an uproar and been on the limelight globally.
The price of Kerstel is estimated to be around $25,000. It is not as bad as expected, given that the car itself is environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient, and made from reliable lightweight materials.
The Renew Sports Car
From the concept of Henry Ford, a new car was made from cannabis. This is called The Renew.
Bruce Michael Dietzen, a former executive of Dell, has been investing a lot of effort and time in creating his brand of a sports car.
When making this sports car, all he was thinking was the environment and how to make use of eco-friendly materials. Dietzen was able to make a car from hundred-pound cannabis with coverage of incredibly tough resin.
He also wanted to wipe off the stigma attached to the reputation of cannabis plants as it is still deemed as harmful as cocaine and heroin.
Most Durable Car There Is
Similar to Ford’s car, Bruce Dietzen is ten times tougher than steel. This is an insight he gave during the showcase of his sports car at Jay Leno’ Garage.
He also added that cannabis could make attainable material for building cars in the future.
During the show, Dietzen showed off the potentials of the cannabis car by slamming the car hood over and over. Unfortunately, the slamming attempt did not make any scratch on the Renew’s body.
The production of the car was not as easy as you may think, given that in Florida, where Dietzen lives, cannabis is considered illegal.
He had to import materials from another country to make the production possible, and there is also a scarcity of facilities to manufacture cannabis.
Carbon Neutral
Additionally, the car is not the only eco-friendly here but also how it was made. The process of building the Renew was carbon neutral.
Carbon neutral allows the manufacturing to prevent from releasing excess dangerous and harmful gasses into the atmosphere. It is quite different from steel cars that emit an estimated ten tons of carbon dioxide while on production and another six tons of the same harmful chemical annually when driven on the road.
It is considered the first carbon-free vehicle in the world. Cannabis efficiently eliminates carbon in the atmosphere. Surprisingly, It even does the job better than trees.
Cannabis plants grow faster than trees. In about three to four months, you will have a mature plant already and can be regrowth many times annually.
Cannabis is outstanding in storing carbon dioxide while it grows. When this ability is used in a car like the Renew, it can be the most beneficial approach to fight climate change and make a change in the emission of harmful chemicals in the atmosphere.
Very Expensive
Although Dietzen was not the pioneer in conceptualizing the cannabis as cars, he made it possible to upgrade the original findings and put effort into thoroughly researching to modernize the idea.
The Renew is not the most affordable car there is and certainly the most expensive way of building a car. With whooping $200,000 invested in making the project happen, it is quite valuable and expensive. However, it is efficient given by the fact that it is eco-friendly, and the materials and products used were distinct.
Anyways, nobody mentioned that the future is not an expensive investment, especially if it is for the sake of innovation and preservation of mother nature.
Dietzen also collaborated with Cool Tech, a Colorado-based company in creating alternative vehicular fuel to save and preserve the environment.
Takeaway
The potentials of cannabis to surpass the ability of artificial materials is an excellent discovery by Henry Ford. It only proves that he was right, and his effort will not be put into waste.
Researchers should look into the harvest year to make use of agriculture in producing innovative products that could change the perspective of today’s generation and their stigma on cannabis. In this way, we could help reduce the emission of harmful chemicals in the atmosphere and possibly prevent climate change from continuing.
Making use of cannabis not just in medicine or food, but also in fabrics, automobiles, and many other ways that could potentially make a tremendously positive and significant impact in the world.
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