How about this for an innovative new industry for Tasmania? An electric scooter built from industrial hemp. Just imagine how many new clean green jobs this would create, not only in growing the hemp itself, but in the manufacture of the scooter?
The Be.e is the first electric scooter to be made out of hemp. It also happens to boast a hip, sleek industrial design, features a battery with an 8-year life and 2000 cycles, as well as a 4kW motor, LED lighting, USB charging (yeah!), a smartphone holder, GPS tracking, and various other accoutrements. It almost seems too strange to be true.
So when I contacted the eco-scooter company Van.Eko, I didn’t expect a near-instant reply. But that’s what I got. Founder and Be.e designer Vaniek Colenbrander, who’s based in Amsterdam, emailed me back immediately, and we hopped on Skype. The light on his end wasn’t good, but even so, I could see a mass of curly, floppy hair belonging to a man who was jazzed up about his scooter, and probably exhausted from more than a fair share of international press and dealer attention.
I spoke with Colenbrander about the plant material used in the Be.e’s construction (industrial hemp), the genesis of the idea, his AirBnB-esque plan for scooter’s owners to rent their scooters, and how he will encourage users to choose the manner in which they electrically power the bike. Oh, and he wanted me to emphasize that the Be.e is currently not in production. You’re not putting in an order after you read this interview. He still needs to find some more investment money to bring it to the world.
Motherboard: What was the genesis of Van.Eko and the Be.e?
Read the answer and more, here: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/how-to-build-an-electric-luxury-scooter-out-of-hemp#ixzz2aIUJetSd
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