JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Special Issue Composites for Sports, Health & Leisure - November 2020 - 5

"We feel a strong pull fom the market"
the old carbon fibre seat. It uses two
types of natural fibre reinforcements:
ampliTex™ fabrics which are reinforced
by the powerRibs™ grid on the b-side.
The powerRibs™ form a 3D rib structure, much like the thin veins on a leaf,
thus providing maximal stiffness at minimal weight.
Formula 1 racing has served as a lab for
future everyday automotive. Do you think
that your application may benefit from
this gateway effect and be introduced to
the public at large?

J. W.: Being present in F1, the pinnacle

The powerRibs™ form a 3D rib structure, much
like the thin veins on a leaf, thus providing maximal stiffness at minimal weight ©McLaren

many benefits to natural fibres - sustainability, safety, cost, health of people in
production...
What technologies, materials, and processes are at work in the production of
this seat?

J. W.: The seat is made using the same
production technology and moulds as

of motorsports, is pivotal for sustainable
technologies. McLaren clearly takes the
position of using F1 as an innovation
platform for cleaner technologies - and
F1 in general is also moving this direction, to remain the leading innovation
platform and remain relevant to the industry, sponsors, and audience. Road
relevance is crucial and allows for technology transfer from race to road, which
is one big purpose of racing - an innovation platform for the technologies of
tomorrow.

J. W.: W hen we started, natural fibres

were practically not existing in motorsports and we have had to build the
market, not just our technology and
brand. In 2018 there were 3 prototype
cars racing with bodywork in natural fibres, and in 2019 they were used for serial production of GT4 cars. Thanks to
the powerRibs™ technology our materials can now be found from F1 to Rallye,
in more than 16 racing series all around
the world. It is clear that performance
cannot be compromised; that is what
has been holding back natural fibres so
far and what makes the powerRibs™ reinforcement grid so important.

The cycles in the automotive industry
are much longer, more complex, but
we expect to see the first interiors in
serial production already next year. As
opposed to motorsports, natural fibres
per say are not new to the automotive
industry; here powerRibs™ rather improve the existing logic and enables
dematerialisation and the reduction of
plastic in our vehicles. The main challenge is to have the first case in serial
production, like in motorsports, to
How could the market penetration of nat- prove the technology.
ural fibre materials be improved in the
automotive sector? What limitations have In your opinion, what's the outlook for
yet to be overcome, and how?
natural fibre materials in the automotive
sector? What do you feel is on the horizon?

J. W.: We feel a strong pull from the
market. There is a fast movement towards cleaner mobility, from motorsport to automotive and large-scale
mobility. We work with many leading
OEMs to help them reduce weight and
plastic in their interiors. Only a few
months ago, the Swedish electric performance car brand Polestar, jointly
owned by Geely and Volvo Cars Group,
launched the Polestar Precept. Its interior panels are made from ampliTex™
and powerRibs™, drastically reducing
the weight and amount of plastic, thus
showing the way for future production
cars. ¨
More information:
www.bcomp.ch
Thanks to the powerRibs™ technology Bcomp's
materials can now be found from F1 to Rallye, in
more than 16 racing series all around the world.
©McLaren

SPECIAL ISSUE Sports, Health & Leisure / November 2020 /

jec composites magazine

http://www.bcomp.ch

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Special Issue Composites for Sports, Health & Leisure - November 2020

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