Hemp Car, the Kestrel EV, has Kootenay connection

Sneak peak at the Hemp Car, The Krestel-EV.

Believe it or not, Calgary's Motive Industries is developing a "green" electric car complete with a bio-composite body made from hemp called the Kestrel EV. The automobile body for the electric vehicle is made from hemp mats produced in Edmonton. The mats are refined through a number of processes that results in a hardened composite which is then molded to be used for the car's body.

A subsidiary of Hydro Quebec is developing the Kestrel's powertrain. And here's the Kootenay connnection; Toxco Inc., in Trail is one of the world's few recyclers of lithium-ion batteries and the company is involved in designing charging stations for the Kestrel EV electric vehicle.

"If we use different materials and technologies, and if we go electric, we can do this for a lot less money, and we can do it in Canada," Nathan Armstrong, Motive Industries, president, recently told BIV Magazine.

Motive Industries projects that annual sales of electric vehicles could reach 160,000 in Canada at some point in the future. The company has produced a prototype vehicle and is currently working at finding more investors to fund the start-up.