Subj : Kiwi start-up uses world-first tech on Hayden Paddon's new rally car
To   : All
From : News
Date : Wed Jun 12 2024 01:15 pm

By Digby Werthmuller, Breakfast Reporter
12:04pm

New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon's brand new electric rally car, using
world-first technology from a Christchurch-based company, has been unveiled
at Field Days in Mystery Creek.

KiwiFibre is the only company in the world using technology to turn harakeke
flax plants into carbon fibre composite materials.

The front and rear bumpers, and the roof of Paddon's new Hyundai Kona EV
rally car were made entirely from harakeke.

"These panels are lighter, which is important in motor sport, and more
durable and resistant to impacts and contact," co-founder Ben Scales told
1News.

"For Hayden, this is the perfect compliment to the innovation that Paddon
Rallysport is committed to and gives competitive advantage on the rally
track," he said.

"For KiwiFibre, this is a great showcase of Kiwi ingenuity, and a perfect
test for harakeke."

Ben Scales and William Murrell first thought of KiwiFibre during a group
project the pair were working on while studying at the University of
Canterbury.

Since November 2022 more than $1.6 million had been raised for the start-up,
with the company on track to raise a further $2 million this year to fund the
next phase of growth.

Murrell said they currently have three growers on contract around the
Canterbury region.

"We harvest the leaves, then extract the fibre and send it off to be made
into carbon fibre.

"We talked to a few domestic and international customers and realised there
was a large problem with the current carbon fibre industry and decided to use
natural fibre," he said.

Growers are able to claim carbon credits through the Ministry of Primary
Industries Emissions Trading Scheme. Scales said the company had more
bio-diverse plantings on the way because of this.

"The vision for the industry is a unified, flourishing harakeke industry
which works with the land rather than against it," said Scales.

When asked about the future of the company, Murrell expressed his desire to
see harakeke used around the world.

"We ultimately want to get harakeke into high performance applications such
as Formula 1 and other sports," said Murrell.

KiwiFibre are up for an innovation award at this year's Field Days held in
Mystery Creek.

European settlers first harvested harakeke in the mid-19th century and
exported it for rope manufacturing. It became New Zealand's biggest industry,
but declined in the 1970's with the rise of synthetic fibres.

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