Tata Motors Building Cars From Corn Starch

Published: Thursday, March 1, 2012, 16:57 [IST]

Ingenuity is something that car makers have always been credited with. They have brought out so many technologies that were so advanced that some people could not even imagine them. Here is yet another example of ingenuity by Indian carmaker Tata Motors.

A team of researchers and engineers from Tata Motors are now using corn starch, a cooking material to create a new material that can be used to build car body parts. The material developed is non toxic and non flammable too. The second bit is more important for Tata Motors considering the spate of fires around the Tata Nano.

The new material created using corn starch is said to be strong and flexible too. Tata Motors believes this material can improve the safety aspect of a vehicle as it can withstand more pressure resulting from impacts. The material has already been used in some cars for testing purpose and Tata Motors is hoping to bring it to full production by the end of this year.

The commercial launch of this material has to be preceded by a pilot project and crash testing to ascertain its quality. Tata Chemicals is working with Tata Motors to complete the project. The evolution of new materials to be used in vehicles has been a continuous process. Carmakers have been investing in research to develop lighter, safer materials.

Tata Motors has not confirmed if it will patent this corn starch technology. Reports say no other carmaker has used this technology to build cars.