TU/Ecomotive – a student team at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands – has worked with Leuven, Belgium-based EconCore to create the lightweight chassis of Lina, billed as the world’s first car made from a combination of biobased composites and bioplastics.

The bio-based composite is made from flax and is said to have a strength/weight ratio similar to that of glass fibre. EconCore’s technology for the cost-effective, continuous production of thermoplastic honeycomb materials contributed the bioplastic honeycomb based on NatureWorks PLA. The PLA 100% biodegradable resin core is placed inbetween two flax fibre composite sheets to provide a sandwich panel effect with high stiffness and strength at minimal weight.