As part of this cooperation, the beans will be used, among other things, in the headlamp housing. If the light turns milky when driving in future, this might not only be down to fog, but also due to the built-in latte macchiato. Joking aside: Roasting the beans leaves a large build-up of husks, Ford reports . It is possible to create a malleable composite material with stronger heating using lower oxygen content and further process steps. This meets the quality demands of numerous components. The advantage comes in a weight saving of up to 20% and an energy saving of 25% during the shaping process, as can be seen in this explanatory video clip .

But it is not only the automobile components themselves that are becoming more sustainable – so are the tires. A number of manufacturers have been experimenting with the relevant materials for some time. This is how Continental hopes to extract rubber from dandelions and use it in production. Michelin is planning a production site that will produce butadiene gas from plant biomass. It will be used to manufacture synthetic rubber.