Sustainable solution for electric concept car: Polyurethane composite material concept using kenaf fiber is 30% lighter than traditional materials.
Lightweight materials will play an increasingly important role in future travel. For example, they will further expand the range of electric vehicles.
Kenaf is a member of the Hibiscus family and grows in Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, India and Africa. The fiber is extracted from the bast fiber of the kenaf plant. As a raw material with good mechanical properties and cost efficiency, it has recently received more and more attention. In the automotive industry, plant fiber as an alternative raw material has also attracted more and more interest.
Light and hard
The characteristics of kenaf fiber-reinforced polyurethane foam composite materials are extremely low area density, less than 1 kg/m2, and high strength, which makes the door trim made of fiber-reinforced kenaf polyurethane foam 30% lighter than traditional materials. The lighter the material, the farther the car can travel after a single refuel or charge.
The developer said: "Our development has made an important contribution to the design of especially lightweight and sustainable vehicles. This is also a good example of focusing on the use of alternative raw materials and building a circular economy."