Tomato fibre to develop materials for vehicles

NAIROBI, KENYA: What do tomatoes and cars have in common? Nothing, you might say. However, researchers at Ford Motor Company and HJ Heinz, the company owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s holding corporation Berkshire Hathaway Inc, see the possibility of an innovative union.

Researchers at the two firms are investigating the use of tomato fibres in developing sustainable, composite materials for use in vehicle manufacturing. Specifically, dried tomato skins could become the wiring brackets in a Ford vehicle or the storage bin a Ford customer uses to hold coins and other small objects.

“We are exploring whether this food processing by-product makes sense for an automotive application,” said Ellen Lee, Ford’s plastics research technical 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.”

Two years ago, Ford began collaborating with Heinz, The Coca-Cola Company, Nike Inc and Procter & Gamble to accelerate development of a 100 per cent plant-based plastic to be used to make everything from fabric to packaging and with a lower environmental impact than petroleum-based packaging materials currently in use.

On the other hand, researchers at Heinz were looking for innovative ways to recycle and re-purpose peels, stems and seeds from the more than two million tonnes of tomatoes the company uses annually to produce its best-selling product, Heinz Ketchup.

“We are delighted that the technology has been validated,” said Vidhu Nagpal, associate director, packaging R&D for Heinz. “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.”

In recent years, Ford has increased its use of recycled non-metal and bio-based materials. With cellulose fibre-reinforced console components and rice hull-filled electrical cowl brackets introduced in the last year, Ford’s bio-based portfolio now includes eight materials in production.

Other examples are coconut-based composite materials, recycled cotton material for carpeting and seat fabrics, and soy foam seat cushions and head restraints.

Aside from tomatoes, materials to be found in the cars of the future could come from coconuts, the hard covering on grains of rice, dandelion roots and even trees, as part of innovative attempts to find sustainable alternatives.

Well, this may be music to the ears of Kenyan farmers whose farm produce goes to waste during the rains or when the market is saturated.