AUTOMOBILES have made great strides in recent years in becoming cleaner and greener, but according to Divergent Microfactories, they still have miles to go.
The problem, as the company sees it, is that while powertrains have become cleaner thanks to the use of alternative energy sources like battery power and fuel cells, manufacturing is dirtier than ever.
The start-up puts forth a solution in the all-new Blade, which it calls “the world’s first 3D-printed supercar.”
Based in California, Divergent Microfactories was founded by Kevin Czinger, who also founded Coda Automotive. With Coda, he was focused on cleaning up the highways by promoting electric vehicle adoption. Coda’s electric car flopped, and the company filed for bankruptcy in 2013, emerging as the newly organized Coda Energy, a company that remains focused on energy storage for commercial and industrial applications.
Mr Czinger has now turned his attention away from the roadways and toward the backend of the industry, working to create a cleaner, more efficient manufacturing paradigm based around 3D printing.
“A far greater percentage of a car’s total emissions come from the materials and energy required to manufacture it,” he explained during a keynote speech at last month’s O’Reilly Solid Conference.
“How we make cars is actually a much bigger problem than how we fuel our cars.”
