; a prototype vehicle designed to achieve minimal reliance on the use of fossil fuel resources in its design and construction, while offering very low energy consumption in use. The BioMobile.ch project was founded in 2004 to look at ideas for promoting sustainable mobility, focusing on ‘individual mobility’ at a project level in an attempt to lower fossil energy consumption. Since its inception, the vehicle has gone through three development stages and the latest adaptation sees the replacement of the remaining non-renewable structural components with renewable materials. The body, chassis and most of the structural parts of the BioMobile are now made entirely from various vegetable fibre reinforcements impregnated with a specially developed epoxy system from Huntsman Advanced Materials which contains over 50% bio-based resin. Commenting on the selection of Huntsman’s bio-based resin system, Michel Perraudin, project manager for BioMobile.ch said: “The successful integration of a blend of renewable vegetable fibre and bio-based resin represents a significant factor in increasing the performance and uniqueness of the BioMobile. “Huntsman’s bio-based resin system proved particularly advantageous with its easy handling and processing capabilities. In helping to optimise the mechanical properties of the prototype, it also played an important role in enabling us to demonstrate that individual mobility with a lower energy signature is possible within both manufacturing and vehicle usage.” www.huntsman.com/advanced_materials
