The regulatory landscape does vary by market, but for manufacturers selling into Europe, the direction is relatively clear. The EU is introducing some of its most far-reaching requirements to date, not just around emissions but across the entire vehicle lifecycle. New circularity rules provisionally agreed upon by the European Parliament and Council will require all new vehicles to be designed for easy disassembly, with a minimum recycled plastic content of 15% within six years and 25% within ten years. Manufacturers will also have extended producer responsibility for the cost of collection and treatment once vehicles reach end-of-life. Our materials are designed for exactly this kind of challenge. The adoption of sustainable materials is now much more than a matter of corporate values, and companies are increasingly considering it a practical response to the trajectory of legislation. Bio-based composites can match and, in some cases, outperform traditional materials, while also reducing reliance on petroleum-based plastics. This helps manufacturers meet the material content targets that are now being written into law. Parts reinforced by carbon fibre are often used to reduce overall weight and therefore fuel or energy consumption and emissions. Compared to carbon fibre, flax has been found
to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 85% from cradle to gate, with comparable lightweighting and
stiffness, as well as unique aesthetic advantages. As well as harnessing the natural properties of
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flax, we are also working with customers to create new solutions with recycled content.
ampliTex is our range of technical natural fibre reinforcement fabric made from flax, designed as a direct substitute for conventional materials such as glass and carbon fibres or plastic in composite layups. ampliTex can be used in a wide variety of applications, including automotive exteriors and interiors. It has high radio transparency, vibrational damping properties and UV resistance. Additionally, the ability to configure the fibres in a wide range of weaves, colours and formats offers engineers and designers great flexibility. ampliTex can be used by itself or in
combination with powerRibs, our natural fibre reinforcement grid. The powerRibs concept is inspired by the structure of leaf veins, and features a rib structure on one side of a thin- walled shell element. This avoids unnecessary bulk and adds stiffness exactly where it is needed. When the two are used together, you get a full natural fibre layup that can match the performance of thin-walled monolithic carbon fibre structures in both weight and stiffness.
We recognise that green credentials alone are not enough to drive adoption. Innovative materials need to be measurably better than their conventional counterparts. Flax composites meet that bar across several performance metrics. Bcomp materials offer proven performance benefits, open up new design possibilities,
enhance passenger experience, and meet the rigorous demands of modern mobility. They are lighter than glass fibre, with stiffness comparable to monolithic carbon parts. By replacing petroleum-based plastics and glass fibre interiors with bio-based materials, manufacturers can produce lighter vehicles with lower fuel consumption. These materials also facilitate a truly circular economy through a variety of end-of-life solutions, such as recycling into new base materials or thermal energy recovery. Our natural fibres also deliver up to 250%
better vibration dampening compared to carbon fibre. This contributes to a better noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) performance, which is important for passenger comfort. They perform better in crash scenarios compared to the brittle fracturing behaviour of carbon fibre.
One of the biggest challenges we have overcome as a company was validation for road-going exterior parts. Together with BMW, we passed ageing, quality and capacity requirements of large-scale exterior automotive parts: a world first for natural fibres. It was a huge step for us and has increased our credibility as a material provider in the automotive world. Another challenge we are proud to have
overcome is manufacturing compatibility. This is one of the biggest barriers to adoption for any new materials. The most sophisticated sustainable material becomes worthless if it
BMW Group and Bcomp have worked closely together to research, validate and industrialise natural fibre composites for road cars
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