Auto Industry Innovates with Hemp

The auto industry has a love affair with any product that pushes innovation. From the 1940s to the present day, automobile performance drives global imagination. Where did it all begin?

Henry Ford Wanted Hemp Cars

Historically, Henry Ford is regarded as the first auto titan that created a hemp-based car. Henry Ford had a dream, and that dream was to build a hemp-powered Ford sedan that melded plastic with the latest in hemp manufacturing, running on 100% hemp ethanol.

Unfortunately, the outbreak of World War II and lack of public demand handicapped his dream.

Modern Cars are Biodegradable

Cars are now using biodegradable parts to make up healthy percentages of its interior. While some of this is legally required in the US, the creative push started to help lower per unit cost.

Hemp and flax based plastics are all the rage. Bio-sourced products combine eco-friendly initiatives with the ability to create a new industry. But, why not a complete automobile?

Car Enthusiasts Pioneer Hemp Cars

Car enthusiasts are even onboard with the hemp-based car movement. Jay Leno drives a Cannabis hemp derived car. Specifically, retired Dell executive Bruce Dietzen tried to sell him on his 2017 Renew. The Renew is a carbon negative vehicle prototype based on Henry Ford's earlier 1941 design.

Ford and Dietzen both saw the ecology and cost-friendliness of manufacturing these vehicles on a wide platform. Colorado-based tech firm Cool Planet has worked with Dietzen to create a biofuel that can work with the Renew. But, what then? Who else is crazy enough to push this idea forward?

New Players Enter the Arena

That's when another automotive player entered the arena. The Kestrel was designed by Canadian based Motive Industries. The hemp manufactured car is completely impact-resistant. While the durability of hemp sounds like a win/win for Big Auto, why are we still talking about the matter like a hypothetical situation?

The answer is in the nature of the approach. Prototypes and high concepts are ideas without utility. Much like the returning Hemp Industry, the path forward is in the definition. Much like how Ananda Hemp is the leading thought leader on Hemp Practices, these auto companies need to educate the masses about the need for their product.

Where can hemp-based plastic go next? Whether it be planes, trains or other high-speed vehicles...hemp pioneers are already there. The next milestone will be in reaching the mainstream practice.