With the formulation of carbon reduction targets in various countries around the world, how to better promote the sustainable development of the automotive industry has become the mission of the industry. If we want to achieve net zero emissions in the true sense, we need to start from all links in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain and carry out research around low carbon. The use of sustainable materials is an important part of this.
DRAWING ON THE INNOVATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELD OF MATERIALS OVER THE PAST DECADE, FEREYA PLANS TO FURTHER EXPAND ITS MATERIALS BUSINESS, AND IN NOVEMBER 2022, FOUNDED MATERI'ACT, A COMPANY FOCUSED ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION OF SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS, TO EXPAND ITS EFFORTS IN THE GLOBAL MARKET, INCLUDING CHINA.
At CHINAPLAS 2024, which opened on April 23, 2024, MATERI'ACT officially debuted in China, showcasing a variety of sustainable modified materials, skin fabric solutions, and the first Plastic Odyssey door panel in Asia.
Megaric, a subsidiary of Forya, participated in CHINAPLAS 2024
Competitive advantage for latecomers
You may wonder why Freya, as a component supplier, is involved in the field of materials.
In fact, as early as more than 10 years ago, Faurecia, a subsidiary of Freya, began to explore innovative materials due to the need for lightweight design of interior products. In line with the design principle of "use less, use better, use longer", the Faurecia interior team wants to provide customers with high-quality and lightweight interior solutions through the use of new materials, such as bio-based materials. The interior materials such as NFPP and NAFILean® developed by it have been widely used in production vehicles and have won market reputation.
Now, companies are announcing net-zero targets. In the process of advancing, how to achieve a lower carbon footprint has become a major challenge. "Freya Group's goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, and the biggest difficulty in achieving carbon neutrality is Scope 3, that is, reducing emissions in the entire industrial chain. At the media conference during the exhibition, Jin Mingqi, R&D Director of Faurecia's Automotive Interiors Division in China, said.
Jin Mingqi, R&D Director of Faurecia Automotive Interiors in China
Many of Faurecia's interior materials are derived from plastics, and in order to meet the requirements of product carbon footprint and achieve carbon neutrality in the industrial chain, more low-carbon materials need to be applied to product design. Promoting the Group's carbon neutrality goal and helping to decarbonize the industrial chain is the original intention of Forya's establishment of Megaric.
After becoming an independent entity, Megaric will also carry out more R&D and promotion of sustainable materials for more industries and customers in the future. Achieving sales of 2 billion euros by 2030 is Majira's goal.
From the early internal application to today's independent operation, how does the young Maggirui stand out in the fiercely competitive plastics industry and win customers?
"At the beginning of the establishment of the Furia Project, we had a similar soul torture: are we competitive enough to compete in the market? After an in-depth analysis, we found that Mindgirui has its own advantages compared to other raw material suppliers.
One is that, as a Tier 1, we know a lot about components. We clearly know what kind of materials and processes can be combined to make the best products. This is something that many material suppliers do not have, and they often need to understand the requirements from Tier 1 before proceeding with material development.
Second, the low-carbon of parts and components, in addition to raw materials, also depends on product design, process manufacturing and other links, Freya can integrate these elements and land on the final product, which is also not available to other material suppliers.
Third, the future of car design will be more personalized, Freya is headquartered in France, our product design has French fashion, romantic genes, can bring consumers more differentiated experience. ”
Achieve 85% carbon reduction by 2030
In line with its original vision, Maggira hopes that by 2030, the low-carbon and ultra-low-carbon materials developed by the company can achieve an 85% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to existing materials. Innovation, based on sustainable development, is key.
According to reports, Magirui has three main product lines: plastic particles (granulation), skin and carbon fiber, and the raw materials of all products are based on recyclable materials and bio-based materials. In addition, the three product lines are closely related to Forya's business segments, with particles and skins for interiors and seats, and carbon fibre for hydrogen tanks.
Let's start with plastic particles, Majirui has three existing particles: NAFILean using hemp fiber, Inicycled P using recyclable materials, and recycled ABS. These eco-friendly particles have been on the market for many years. Among them, hemp fiber NAFILean has been used in about 80 vehicles around the world, with automotive door panels being its main application scenario, and Inicycled P and Inicycled S have also been used in overseas markets and will be introduced to China this year.
Looking at the epidermis, there are three types of epidermis materials, namely: pineapple leaf fiber epidermis, reconstructed epidermis based on TPU material, and double-sided epidermis combining PVC and hemp fiber. The first two products have been developed and are awaiting market application, while the double-sided skin has already been put on the market.
A third product line, i.e. recyclable carbon fiber materials, is still under development. "Carbon fiber is a relatively high-end technology, and we will reveal how many products will be launched in the future. Jin Mingqi said.
As its first large-scale appearance in China, MindRay showcased some of its innovative products from its three product lines, including the NAFILean series of particles and some skin materials that have been proven in the market.
In the NAFILean range, NAFILean-R is made up of 20% natural hemp fibre combined with a 100% recycled polypropylene matrix, which not only reduces weight but also reduces CO2 emissions by up to 87%. NAFILean Vision, on the other hand, is a composite material developed specifically for exterior decoration requirements, which can be fully recycled by combining a variety of biomaterials (hemp, wood, reeds, olive pits or oyster shells) as well as recycled plastics from multiple sources.
It is worth mentioning that Majirui also brought a Plastic Odyssey door panel for the first time in Asia. The door panels are made of blue engineering plastic (made from ocean plastic and oyster shells collected on the beach) instead of black petroleum-based materials. The combination of ocean plastic and biomass reduces CO2 emissions by 20% and demonstrates Freya's and Megaric's ability to integrate recycled plastics into existing automotive interiors without compromising the stringent standards set by automakers in terms of performance and safety, or sacrificing the quality consumers expect.
Plastic Odyssey door panels made from ocean plastic made their Asian premiere at CHINAPLAS
Three steps to China business
In order to better expand the market, Megaric is expanding its business in Europe, North America and China. When it comes to the Chinese market, Jin Mingqi said that the development of Maggiri in China will be mainly divided into three steps.
First of all, through partners, some of Magito's materials are localized, both in mass production in Europe and in research and development. Secondly, Mindgiray's China team will conduct local R&D according to the specific needs of Chinese customers, such as low odor, low VOC, high mobility, personalization, etc. Finally, on the basis of Chinese customers, we develop more precise raw materials suitable for Asia and China.
According to reports, Majirui has conducted a survey on the difference in consumer demand between the Chinese and European markets. The results show that Chinese consumers are younger and younger, with the average age of Chinese customers buying a car being 35 years old, compared to 53 years old in Europe, and the age gap of 18 years means that Chinese consumers have higher requirements for sensory indicators such as appearance and touch. In addition, Chinese consumers are more sensitive to odors and do not like pungent odors. Therefore, personalization and low odor are the main R&D directions of Magirui in China.
As the head of MindRay China's business, Jin Mingqi's top priority is not only to build a Chinese R&D and business team, but also to find suitable industry chain partners. "For Majirui, if we want to successfully carry out research on modified materials in China, we need automotive-grade recycled materials depending on the recycling capacity of waste plastics in the upstream. Jin Mingqi explained.
For example, in the European market, Freia has partnered with Veolia, France's largest recycling company, to develop innovative compounds for automotive interior modules. Veolia's recycling site in France already produces these recycled materials. By 2025, the goal is to have an average of 30% recycled content in Freya's automotive interior modules.
Interior panels made with sustainable materials from Maggire
In order to find a suitable upstream partner, Majirui, which was originally scheduled to start localization work by the end of 2023, has slowed down the pace. It is gratifying that on the eve of this year's rubber and plastics exhibition, Freya announced that it had signed a letter of intent for joint venture cooperation with Zhuhai Gree Green Renewable Resources Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Gree Electric Appliances. By the end of 2024, the two companies plan to establish a joint venture to jointly develop, manufacture and sell recycled plastics to create first-class sustainable material products.
At the end of the interview, Jin Mingqi said: "Freya and Gree's corporate vision are very compatible. Faurecia wants to create a travel experience, Gree wants to create a better life, one is dynamic travel, the other is a static home, and we both want to build a green ecological environment. It is reported that the joint venture is expected to achieve the sales target of 150,000 tons of compounds by 2030, and the business will involve home appliances and other industries in addition to automobiles.