Automotive lightweighting Cellulose-fibre biocomposite cuts vehicle part weight by 8 percent

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A cellulose-fibre biocomposite developed by the Sapa-led Life Biobcompo project reduces automotive part weight by around 8 percent and can run on standard injection-moulding machines. Validated under real driving conditions, the material has entered production for the Lancia Ypsilon dashboard.

Making a car lighter is one of the simplest ways to cut its fuel use and CO₂ emissions, but only if the lighter materials can survive real driving conditions and are produced at scale. That is the gap the Life Biobcompo project set out to close.

Led by components manufacturer Sapa, in partnership with FCA Italy (now Stellantis Europe) Centro Ricerche Fiat and Sòphia High Tech Group, the project developed a lightweight biocomposite using renewable cellulose fibres instead of conventional mineral fillers. Its end customer was Stellantis, the carmaker behind brands such as Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot and Jeep, of which FCA Italy became part in 2021.

"The project addresses two main challenges in the automotive sector," explains Alfonso Molaro, technical manager at Sapa. "The first is reducing the weight of the vehicle part, to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle and lower CO₂ emissions. The second is reducing the use of conventional fossil-based and mineral raw materials, and replacing them with natural fibres."

From the laboratory to the road

The material's advantage, Molaro notes, is that it can be processed on standard injection-moulding machines, so it slots into existing production lines without major changes. About 20 percent of the material is non-fossil, drawn from cellulose fibres, and a vehicle part with it is around 8 percent lighter than one made with traditional mineral-filled material.

The biocomposite developed by Life Biobcompo was not only tested in the laboratory, but also validated under real vehicle conditions, with Stellantis, the end customer, as a project partner. "The automotive sector needs materials that are validated not at laboratory scale, but in real vehicle conditions," says Molaro. "That is the solution the Life Biobcompo project offers."

The result is already on the road. The biocomposite has been industrialised on the dashboard of the Lancia Ypsilon car, and, as Molaro puts it, "since 2022, around 10,000 vehicles on the road are equipped with parts produced with these materials."

The impact of the Life Programme and its close-to-market support

For Sapa, the value of the Life Programme lay in bridging a well-known gap. "The Life Programme was fundamental in helping us bridge the gap between research and industrial application," says Molaro. "It supported us through the whole qualification process, in the transition from laboratory scale to industrial validation and commercialisation."

The Life close-to-market support reinforced market readiness and visibility of the technology. As Molaro explains, it "gave us also the opportunity to present our technology to other potential customers, through webinars and interviews."

The project's momentum has continued beyond its end in 2023. According to Molaro, the work helped create around 36 jobs at Sapa, and the company has kept developing formulations based on recycled and bio-based materials for the automotive sector.

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