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INDUSTRY NEWS
55THANNIVERSARY
Bcomp, the sustainable performance materials company, has collaborated with BMW M in development of the BMW M Concept Neue Klasse recently unveiled at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The concept car features extensive use of
Bcomp’s ampliTex technology for both interior and exterior components, most notably the roof. ampliTex is woven from flax fibres and, compared to carbon fibre, reduces cradle-to-
gate CO2 emissions by up to 85%. The visible fibre composite roof showcases the
bespoke weave and colour developed specifically for, and together with, BMW M. For the exterior, BMW M used ampliTex for the roof, front splitter, bonnet air outlet, side skirts, mirror caps, and the rear diffuser. On the interior, ampliTex was used for the back of the four newly developed bucket seats as a structural element. Bcomp’s natural fibre is not only used in its pure form but also, for the first time, in a refined form with M branding in the roof graphic.
BCOMP’S AMPLITEX MATERIAL CHOSEN FOR NEW BMW M CONCEPT NEUE KLASSE Offering high stiffness
to weight ratio, safer crash behaviour than carbon fibre, exceptional vibration damping, and full radio transparency, ampliTex has been used extensively in motorsport – including in Formula 1, Formula E, Super Formula, GT racing, motorcycle racing, rally, and more. Christian Fischer, CEO at
Bcomp, said: “Natural fibres do not pretend to copy carbon fibre composites, they are distinctive and unique. Supplying our ampliTex reinforcement materials for the BMW M Concept Neue Klasse is proof that we have challenged the status quo and conclusively demonstrated the viability of our sustainable composite technologies in both
ADVANCED CASTING TECHNOLOGIES ENABLE
DEVELOPMENT OF LIGHTWEIGHT VEHICLES A landmark moment for lightweight automotive manufacturing has been unveiled by the PIVOT consortium, showcasing the transformative potential of advanced casting technologies for the next generation of vehicles. Designed for a demonstrator vehicle for a
major British OEM and revealed at ‘Casting the Future of Aluminium’, hosted at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), the cast aluminium subframes are currently 17% lighter at the front and 35% lighter at the rear than the components they would replace.
The subframes were designed using a combination of casting design techniques developed by
PIVOT’s lead partner, Coventry-based foundry Sarginsons Industries, and topology optimisation technology from Siemens, including Simcenter Optistruct software and Simcenter Inspire software. Drawing on a proprietary database of mechanical property data built from more than 20 years of
physical testing and microstructural analysis, the technology enables Sarginsons to accurately predict how aluminium will behave throughout a casting. This world-first capability allows structural components to be validated in virtual crash simulation environments before any metal is poured. By replacing conservative assumptions with material-specific performance data, the process
significantly reduces the need for over-engineering, unlocking lighter, more cost-effective and higher-performing structural castings. The reveal was made during PIVOT’s presentation at ‘Casting the Future of Aluminium’, a
closed cross-sector event convening senior figures from the automotive, aerospace and defence industries, funding bodies and the metals sector to explore collaborative opportunities in advanced aluminium manufacturing. Sarginsons’ technical director, Gavin Shipley, said: “A physical crash test can cost up to
£1 million every time you run one. For decades, the only way to be safe was to over-engineer, adding mass and material to compensate for uncertainty. “What we’ve demonstrated today is an alternative. By combining virtual engineering, AI and
advanced casting expertise, we’re able to understand precisely how a component will behave before any metal is poured, giving manufacturers the confidence to design for real performance rather than worst-case assumptions. “For decades, engineers have been forced to design around the limitations of casting. We’re
now turning that thinking on its head, unlocking entirely new possibilities for lighter, stronger and more efficient vehicle structures.” Following the successful completion of the virtual development programme, the front subframe will
now move into the next phase of development, with tooling scheduled to begin soon. The components will also undergo physical durability testing and be fitted to demonstrator vehicles for track evaluation, providing real-world validation of the virtual engineering approach used throughout the programme.
sarginsons.com 1 DESIGN SOLUTIONS 1971-2026 JULY/AUGUST 2026 4
www.designsolutionsmag.co.uk
structural and aesthetic high-performance automotive applications. We eagerly anticipate seeing future road-going vehicles featuring our natural fibre composite solutions.”
www.bcomp.com AGENTIC AI
WORKFLOWS FOR SEMICONDUCTOR AND PCB DESIGN
Siemens has announced an expansion of its strategic partnership with NVIDIA to deliver self-verifying agentic AI workflows to EDA, helping semiconductor and printed circuit board (PCB) engineering teams move from autonomous task orchestration toward continuously validated engineering outcomes. The new capabilities build on Siemens’
recently introduced Fuse EDA AI Agent system and add new NVIDIA AI technology to help long-running, domain scoped, AI agents reason, act and continuously validate decisions against deterministic, physics-based EDA engines. Amit Gupta, senior vice president and
chief AI strategy officer, Siemens EDA, Siemens Digital Industries Software. “By enabling autonomous and long-running EDA AI agents to continuously validate their decisions against proven engineering tools accurately and efficiently, we help customers accelerate development, improve design quality and increase confidence in trusted engineering outcomes.” The new offering spans Siemens’ EDA
technologies across the full semiconductor and electronics lifecycles, from high-level synthesis with Catapult, verification with Questa One and Veloce, and custom IC design and verification with Solido, through to physical implementation with Aprisa, signoff verification with Calibre and design-for-test with Tessent. It also supports advanced 3D IC integration using Innovator3D IC and PCB design with Xpedition.
www.siemens.com
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