New bio-based foams make vehicles and buildings more sustainable
Automotive
Seven innovative products
Using nanotechnology, as well as advanced extraction and production processes, ReInvent formulated rigid moulded, semi-rigid, soft and spray foams based on renewable materials such as wood and agricultural by-products. In line with the EU’s sustainability goals, the foams can replace petroleum-based ones, thereby reducing dependence on fossil fuels as part of moves towards a post-petroleum society.
Compared with their fossil-based counterparts and some bio-based products currently on the market, the new products are more sustainable, cheaper and with better properties.
Vito Lambertini, project manager at ReInvent
By combining the foams with natural fibres, it was possible to create seven new products. Four of them are for the construction sector and include sandwich panels and spray foams for building insulation, sandwich structural components with a foam core for features including floor slabs and bridge decks, and pre-insulated pipes. The other three – sub-layers for car ceilings, dashboards and seat covers – are for the automotive industry.
Cheaper and more sustainable bio-based solutions
‘Compared with their fossil-based counterparts and some bio-based products currently on the market, the new products are more sustainable, with a smaller carbon footprint due to their lower energy requirements and the potential to sequester carbon during manufacture. They are also cheaper and possess enhanced properties such as insulation, adhesion, and the capacity to resist fire and the spread of fungus,’ said Vito Lambertini, Project Manager at ReInvent lead partner CRF, an Italian research entity that is part of the Stellantis automotive manufacturing corporation.
To further increase the sustainability and circularity of the developed products and materials, new energy-efficient and cost-effective technologies have also been developed for their recycling and reuse in various industrial sectors. These technologies are based on the application of chemicals and enzymes to break the foams down into their basic building blocks through aminolysis reactions. The building blocks can then be used to make new products.
Spurring economic growth
The project thus helped to foster further innovation, technological advances and adoption of environmentally friendly practices. The additional innovation is expected to contribute to the expansion of the bio-based foam industry, which creates new job opportunities. In particular, the industrial-scale application of foams will create jobs for people with experience in polymers, nanomaterials, bio-chemical technologies, nanotechnologies, engineering, mechanics, process and product safety and marketing.
The bio-based foams are cheaper and possess enhanced properties such as insulation, adhesion, and the capacity to resist fire and the spread of fungus.
Vito Lambertini, project manager at ReInvent
ReInvent’s new foams can thus play an important role in mitigating climate change and shaping a more sustainable future. They will do this by improving resource efficiency and reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from Europe’s construction and automotive industries while, at the same time, generating local and regional economic growth.
Fostering collaboration and innovation
Research, development and upscaling activities carried out under ReInvent required the participation of experts from various backgrounds, including scientists, engineers, technicians and manufacturing professionals.
Partners in the project included industrial manufacturers, SMEs, research institutions and universities. By bringing together stakeholders from the construction, automotive and bio-based industries from countries across Europe and beyond, including Denmark, Germany, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Portugal and Spain, ReInvent encouraged collaboration both within and between sectors.
