The Austrian design studio, EOOS, has developed a zero-emissions utility vehicle (ZUV), created using 3D printing and recycled materials.
The firm’s calling the vehicle a ZUV, or a “zero-emissions utility vehicle,” and it was designed in such a way that it’s environmentally friendly all the way down to the manufacturing. By 3D-printing the tricycle using locally sourced waste, fewer resources are wasted throughout the production process. Most bikes are manufactured somewhere like Asia, for instance, and shipping alone uses heaps of energy.
EOOS, the firm behind the tricycle, envisions cities around the world having their own ZUV production facilities. Once the bike frame is printed, a user could take it to a bike shop where a motor would be bolted at predefined positions.
This model would also make it easy to repair the bike close to home and extend its lifespan. Since the ZUV is made from recycled plastic, the frame could be shredded and re-printed to form another ZUV (though, eventually, the plastic would likely degrade too much for reuse).
