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Report 6 (of 6): Smart Car - France
Introduction
The motor car has been responsible for high levels
of pollution since its invention at the beginning
of this century. With growing concern about the world's
pollution, the German company, Mercedes Benz, and
the Swiss company, Swatch, decided to join forces
and build a car that was as ecologically sound as
possible. The Smart Car is designed by Micro Compact
Car GmbH.
The Smart Car
The Smart Car is a two seater petrol city-coupe
which is lightweight and has been designed to take
up less room in congested city centres. It has electronic
power management that prevents the engine from emitting
pollutants and it has an economy transmission mode
to save fuel.
The Smart Car is assembled in modules which makes
design changes easier. For example, new power sources
like electric fuel cells could be fitted. It also
guarantees that the car, and its parts, can be dismantled
and recycled economically at the end of its useful
life.
Specifications of the Smart Car
Fuel Consumption: 4.8 litres per 100 kilometres
Length: 2.5 metres
Width: 1.51 metres
Height: 1.53 metres
Maximum Speed: 135 kilometres per hour
Acceleration: 0-60 kilometres per hour in 7 seconds
Cost: 16,000 to 20,000 Deutschmarks (DM)
Smartville Energy Centre
The Smart Car is manufactured at the Smartville
Energy Centre at Hambach in France. A completely
new factory was designed with the quality of the
environment in mind and the whole place is energy
efficient. The factory was built on 30 hectares of
industrial waste land and now includes a nature reserve
with rare plant species and landscaping for hundreds
of trees. Building a car factory from scratch helps
to make a green agenda possible but ecological conservation
is still a complex process.
Construction of the Energy Centre
All the materials used in the construction of the
energy centre were checked against a list of environmentally
harmful materials. None of the buildings contain
formaldehyde or CFCs. The panelling used for facades
is made of TRESPA which is a raw material produced
mainly from the wood of a European tree species that
recovers quickly.
Recycling Water and Wastes
Rainwater that runs from the roofs of the buildings
is retained in reservoirs for use in tempering steel.
All the other waste water that drains off the roads
and car parks is fed into the oil separation plants,
treated in storage basins and used for specific purposes.
A centrally located biological clarification plant
purifies all the waste water from the factory's sanitary
installations and industrial processes. The recycling
of water is yet another way of preserving valuable
resources. The plant works using new biomembranes
that clean waste through a filtration system to strict
European drinking water standards. After purification,
the water is used in the gardens and as a coolant
during the production process.
Energy Saving and Heat
The strict application of ecological principles
is also clear from the way in which surplus materials
such as excess powder are collected and reused. Energy
saving is an important feature in the buildings and
insulation is used in the facades to muffle sound
and conserve heat. Heat recovery systems are used
throughout the factory. The heat generated by the
injection moulding section and by air leaving the
paint department is taken through a rotating heat
recovery system. The utilisation of waste heat to
this extent is rare and eliminates the need for cooling
towers as well as cutting costs and preserving resources.
The Smartville Energy Centre consists of a heating
station and a block type thermal power station. Emissions
are greatly reduced simply because it burns natural
gas rather than conventional fuels and the efficiency
of the system is boosted by reuse of waste heat.
Recycling Materials
Recycled materials as well as raw materials that
can be reproduced are used in the manufacturing process
of the Smart Car. Risk materials are consistently
avoided. For example, there is no use of poisonous
metals, such as lead and cadmium, throughout the
entire production process of the car. The result
is that up to 95% of the Smart Car is suitable for
recycling.
Solvent Free Production
The chassis of the new Smart Car is painted using
the powder coating technique which is a solvent free
process. This is the first time that this economical
and environmentally responsible process has been
used 100% in motor car construction. Apart from its
ecological soundness, the process produces a higher
quality finish than conventional methods despite
the fact the coat is thinner. Another advantage is
that there are no solvents emitted and there is also
no hazardous waste.
Environmental Management Systems
Environmental protection has been integrated into
all the phases of development research for the production
of the Smart Car and also in the planning of the
factory and its systems.
An international environmental standard called ISO
14001 aims to ensure that everything has as little
impact on the environment as possible. Micro Compact
Car GmbH has been awarded the Environmental Certificate
ISO 14001 for the environmental protection measures
it has used in the development of the Smart Car.
Thus, the Smart Car is one of the first cars which
has been developed to the requirements of an environmental
management system.
1DM = GB£2.9847 @ June 1998
1DM = US$1.7829 @ June 1998
Intermediate Technology would like to thank the
Smart Car Information Centre for providing the
original material on the Smart Car.
For further information, please contact:
Smart Infocenter,
Postfach 50 02 44,
D-80972,
Munchen,
GERMANY.
Website: http://www.smart.com/
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