BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s race winning Formula E car has become the first car to come out of Munich made out of renewable technology.
The BMW iFE.20 has not only proven itself on-track following victory in Ad Diriyah, but now has a flax cooloing shaft. This which demonstrates that BMW are using Formula E not only for battery technology, but to help with the overall sustainability of the manufacturing process too.
BMW Group Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt said: “The flax cooling shaft that we use in the BMW iFE.20 is further proof of the hugely important role of BMW i Motorsport as a tech lab for the BMW Group.”
“We are consistently using Formula E as an innovative platform for series development – in this instance for testing flax in extreme weather conditions. What’s particularly remarkable is the fact that in some areas this renewable material even has advantages over materials established in racing, such as carbon. Our ambition is to always use the best suited material for each part.”
Flax has the advantage of greater absorption and impact resistance which will help the iFE.20 on the bumpy and undulating street courses that Formula E run on.
It is suggested that this could help in cases of wheel-to-wheel contact that will inevitably happen over the course of a Formula E campaign.
In developing this material on their race cars, BMW is showing that it is not only committed to developing battery technology, but creating cars for both race and road using sustainable technologies.
