4
NEWS
Ford's materials technology, souped up
Dearborn to source tomato waste products from Heinz for vehicle component productionIt's an even stranger partnership than Hyundai and Prada perhaps, but Ford and Heinz have joined up to explore the potential for by-products from the food industry to be used in the production of vehicle storage bins and wiring brackets.
The sustainable bio-plastic material comes from tomato fibre. According to Ford, incorporating the tomato fibre in a composite material would reduce the petro-chemical content in these items.
"We are exploring whether this food processing by-product makes sense for an automotive application," said Ellen Lee, Ford plastics research specialist. "Our goal is to develop a strong, lightweight material that meets our vehicle requirements, while at the same time reducing our overall environmental impact."
Ford has turned to a host of volume-selling brands for assistance with sustainable manufacture based on bio-plastic materials. Those companies included Heinz, Coca-Cola, Nike and Procter & Gamble. Apparently Heinz was already well down the track, looking at new uses for the peels, stems and seeds left over from two million tonnes of tomatoes used in the annual production of Heinz Ketchup.
"We are delighted that the technology has been validated," said Vidhu Nagpal, Heinz's Research and Development associate director. "Although we are in the very early stages of research, and many questions remain, we are excited about the possibilities this could produce for both Heinz and Ford, and the advancement of sustainable 100 per cent plant-based plastics."
Development of bio-plastic materials for use in car production is not a new idea. Ford has already embraced the concept wholeheartedly, with eight different bio-based materials used in vehicle production, including cellulose, rice, coconut, cotton and soy.
It all begs the obvious question, however: Will the cars of the future be recycled – as we currently understand the term applied to the automotive industry – or will they be composted?
Share this article
Written byCarsales Staff
See all articlesOur team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Subscribe todayRelated articles
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Contact
Advertise with us
International marketplaces
Scan to download the carsales app
Want more info? Here’s our app landing page
App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo
are trademarks of Google LLC.