IT'S NOT A CANNABIS CAR BUT...

Calgary company with help from local firms develops electric vehicle
with body parts made from hemp

Don't call it the cannabis car, but a Calgary transportation company
and its partners including some Toronto firms have developed an
electric vehicle with hemp body parts.

Calgary-based Motive Industries says it will unveil the design of the
Kestrel compact car and its hemp composite components at an electric
vehicle show in Vancouver next month.

The design and engineering of the four-seat car is part of Project
Eve, a major Canadian initiative that is promoting the production of
electric vehicles and parts.

A consortium of more than a dozen companies, including Toronto
Electric and Archronix Corp. of Markham, and some technical schools
plan to use impact-resistant, bio-composite material made from
industrial hemp, other fibres and resins for outside body panels and
some interior components.

Hemp does not contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active
ingredient in marijuana and hashish.

"We have had a lot of public interest in what's we're doing but there
have been some sensational headlines," Motive president Nathan
Armstrong said Friday about the mistaken link to cannabis and marijuana.

The project is one of many consortiums that have surfaced to pursue
the emerging world of electrical and hybrid vehicles that would
gradually replace the century-old internal combustion engine.

Project officials say the combination of hemp, other fibres and
resins can be stronger, lighter, less expensive and easier to
manufacture than fiberglass, a major material in autos.

Armstrong also noted that energy costs are much lower for
manufacturing hemp and it produces no toxins that undermine the
health of workers.

Some farmers in Alberta and Ontario already grow hemp for industrial
uses that could be used for the car. A government-funded study is
determining whether more hemp production is commercially viable in
view of its potential uses.

"The farmers are going to be helping us and we are going to be
flying," said Project Eve leader Steve Dallas about prospects for hemp in cars.

Dallas, president of Toronto Electric, said the consortium will
unveil five electric prototypes for production within the next few
years. Member companies have already selected a Winnipeg manufacturer
to build a few dozen vehicles for large corporate fleets, he added

In addition to releasing a design of the Kestrel at the EV 2010 VE
Conference and Trade Show in Vancouver, the consortium will unveil
Dallas' A2B two-seat electrical car which he has developed in recent
years and drives around Toronto. It can reach speeds of up to 115 km
per hour, he said.

The consortium will complete and roll out the first Kestrel hemp
prototype by the end of the year, according to Armstrong. While
project officials are using hemp extensively, the main frame will be
made of a aluminum.

The idea of using hemp as a material in vehicles dates back to 1941
when auto pioneer Henry Ford produced a car using hemp, wheat straw
and resins to make body parts such as trunk lids that could withstand
eight times the force of steel before denting. However, the company
never used hemp extensively.

Hemp also has numerous industrial uses ranging from the production of
chemicals, to paints, the backing on carpets and even as an
alternative fuel for cars.

Project officials also say Canada has an advantage in exploiting the
use of hemp because of productions restrictions south of the border.

The U.S. Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937 which
effectively ended hemp production. Washington's Drug Enforcement
Administration opposes any changes for domestic cultivation, hemp
supporters say.