Recently, BMW i Ventures, a venture capital firm of the BMW Group, announced an investment in the Industry's leading natural fiber composites company, the Swiss start-up Bcomp, to increase investment in the use of natural fibers to manufacture vehicle parts. In addition, the BMW Group's R&D department has established a development partnership with Bcomp to explore the use of a higher proportion of renewable materials in the components of future models.
Florian Preu, Senior Vice President of Vehicle Development at bmw group, said: "In order to reduce carbon emissions in all models, the BMW Group not only pays attention to the use stage of the vehicle, but also attaches great importance to energy conservation and emission reduction in the production process. The selection and integration of innovative materials is a key step for the BMW Group to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality. ”
Compared with traditional materials, the use of renewable raw materials and natural fibers, such as flax, red hemp, etc., can minimize the amount of material used, and can reduce the weight of up to 50%, which will help reduce the energy consumption of the vehicle during use. In addition, the use of natural fibers reduces the carbon dioxide calculation value, as plants absorb carbon dioxide during the growth phase to release oxygen. For now, natural fiber composites are particularly suitable for use in car cabin trims.
As an important technical laboratory of the BMW Group, bmw M motorsport used Bcomp's innovative material technology in BMW iFE.20 as early as 2019, which is BMW's first car with renewable plant fiber components. BMW has also used Bcomp's powerRibsTM technology and ampliTexTM natural fiber composites to replace carbon fiber reinforced composite plastics (CFRP) in the cars of the DTM German Touring Car Masters. Based on its hands-on experience in motorsport, BMW will also apply innovative materials to BMW M models and BMW M Performance performance kits.
The BMW Group's R&D department, in collaboration with Bcomp, is exploring the use of new renewable materials in future models. By 2030, the BMW Group aims to reduce the carbon footprint of vehicles throughout their life cycle by more than 40% compared to 2019, and the development of innovative materials is an important part of achieving this goal. To this end, the BMW Group is actively working closely with outstanding start-ups and experienced material suppliers with the aim of establishing a comprehensive system for sustainable product development, rationalizing the use of resources and transforming to a circular economy.
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