JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #146 - June/July 2022 - 84

SOLUTlONS natural fibres
European fl ax and
hemp fi bres power
a more sustainable
automotive future
As automotive manufacturers constantly work to
evolve their vehicle technology, as well as their manufacturing
processes, to have less impact on our environment,
a myriad of opportunities exist in lightweighting
and material substitution.
Th e European fl ax and hemp fi bre industry is ready
to take on this challenge, and now provides a broad
range of industry-ready raw material and intermediate
products. Th e Confederation for European Flax and
Hemp - CELC - represents 10,000 European companies
throughout the value chain and is dedicated
to providing composite manufacturers and end users
with the knowledge and technical support required
to integrate fl ax and hemp. Th rough its EUROPEAN
FLAX® brand, CELC also provides the traceability and
environmental assurance required by the automotive
industry. In parallel, its European Scientifi c Council
takes responsibility for delivering validated technical
data and best practice manufacturing guidelines.
Not just greener, fl ax fi bres deliver impressive mechanical
performance. Th e low-density fi bres have a high
specifi c stiff ness, while providing good impact performance
and exceptional vibration damping. Increasingly,
manufacturers are exploiting these characteristics to
develop semi-structural and fully-structural components.
Th
is short review looks at several innovative fl ax fi bre
composite solutions developed for the automotive sector.
All of these examples use sustainably-grown natural
fi bres to create parts with a reduced environmental impact.
However, what is equally important to highlight is
the much broader range of performance benefi ts these
materials bring to the table.
As the demand for fl ax in composites explodes, the fl ax
industry has responded with a strategic shift to supply
high-quality rovings to major composite weaving
players that are adding fl ax to their portfolios. Flax has
become a technical fi bre off ered alongside the industry
standards.
www.europeanfl ax.com
www.fl axandhempdirectory.com
84
jec composites magazine / N°
146 June - July 2022
Lighter, greener, and simpler
automotive headliners
Howa-Tramico, alongside raw material
supplier Ecotechnilin and research partners
from the University of South Britt any
and the French National Research Institute
for Agriculture, Food and Environment, was nominated as a JEC Innovations
Award fi nalist for a new, more sustainable headliner technology. Flax fi bres
now replace an existing seven-layer petrochemical-based solution that used glass
fi bre-reinforced PU foams. Th e new technology, which focuses on creating measurable
environmental improvements, also meets key manufacturing targets to integrate
easily into the existing thermoforming process. Energy consumption and
CO2
©Howa Tramico Ecotechnilin Flower project
emissions equivalence are signifi cantly reduced with the fl ax fi bre composite
solution, also enabling new options to reuse waste in the production process.
www.howa-tramico.fr
www.ecotechnilin.com
www.inrae.fr
www.univ-ubs.fr
Sustainable
composites get
the luxury look
©Mono Group
Automotive interior
decor manufacturer
Mono Group combined
their expertise
with the zero-twist fl ax
rovings and technical support of fl ax specialists Terre de Lin to create
sustainable components with luxury aesthetics in collaboration
with a leading luxury automotive brand. While lightweight fl ax fi -
bres are already used in many interior components, they are typically
used in applications (such as rear parcel shelves and headliners)
where the fi bres are not visible. Producing innovative fl ax interior
trims that satisfy the visual and surface quality requirements of the
luxury and high-end automotive industry still remains a challenge.
With their latest innovation, a high-gloss centre console trim part
with a visual fl ax fi bre fi nish, Mono Group and Terre de Lin have
created a beautiful aesthetic look that presents a signifi cantly more
sustainable alternative to carbon fi bre components.
www.mono-group.com
www.terredelin.com
http://www.howa-tramico.fr http://www.ecotechnilin.com http://www.inrae.fr http://www.univ-ubs.fr http://www.mono-group.com http://www.terredelin.com http://www.europeanflax.com http://www.flaxandhempdirectory.com
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #146 - June/July 2022

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