Ford announced that its engineers in Cologne, Germany, began a research project to determine if the company could repurpose food waste to make automotive part prototypes.
The research team confirmed the durability of the parts and suggested that additional research might lead to lighter components that reduce plastic usage in vehicles. The development has the potential to decrease Ford’s carbon footprint in auto parts and help the company achieve its goal of incorporating more renewable and recycled materials into its fleet.
The automaker carried out the initiative under the COMPOlive project, which aimed to showcase the effects of using materials produced from renewable and recycled materials in automotive components.
Ford sourced the waste used in the trial from olive groves in Andalusia, Spain. According to the automaker, the prototype parts featured 60% recycled polypropylene plastic and 40% olive tree fibers. Ford stated that the material underwent heating and was injection molded into the shape of an automotive part.
The food waste project expands on previous Ford research into using sustainable materials in vehicles, including soybean-based foam headrests and seats, recycled ocean plastic in wiring harness clips, and recycled yogurt cups in a frunk insert.
