Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Heinz and car manufacturer Ford are getting together to look into using tomatoes, specifically tomato fibers, in “…developing sustainable, composite materials for use in vehicle manufacturing.” Riight, tomato-based car parts could really be a thing in future.
But it seems it’s real, if this press release from Ford is any indication. The company isn’t looking to create any moving parts from tomato-sauce by-products though, instead they’re investigating whether it’s possible to create a sustainable plastic that could be used in car interiors. Using the aforementioned leftover sauce bits, of course.
Ford plastics research technical specialist Ellen Lee said that “We are exploring whether this food processing byproduct makes sense for an automotive application. Our goal is to develop a strong, lightweight material that meets our vehicle requirements, while at the same time reducing our overall environmental impact.”
Which actually sits all right with us. Plus there’s the novelty of being able to say that your vehicle is both environmentally friendly and partially composed to tomatoes, something that is bound to be a conversation starter.
