BMW M Visionary Materials Seat with Bcomp bio-material wins award

Bcomp, an expert in high-performance, natural fiber composites for the mobility, recreational and mass transportation sectors, has been awarded the 2024 Altair Enlighten Award in the Sustainable Process category with BMW M for the BMW M Visionary Materials Seat.

BMW M Visionary Materials Seat has won the 2024 Altair Enlighten Award.

Manufactured with Bcomp’s ampliTex bio-based materials, the seatback features a fully bio-based, high-performance natural fiber layup with ampliTex-PP composite. Less complex assemblies and mono-material feature allows the seat to be separated by type, enhancing the recyclability of the seat at the end of its life.

Flax fiber composites are CO2e neutral from cradle to gate, which can reduce manufacturing-related emissions of high-performance composite parts by up to 85% compared to carbon fiber.

Compared to current large-scale automotive plastic parts, Bcomp’s material solutions, with low density and high stiffness, can reduce component weights by up to 50%.

“This is not just about the substitution of materials, but above all about the topic of design for circularity,” commented Falco Hollmann, Innovation Manager Lightweight Construction & Sustainability at BMW M.

BMW M and Bcomp have already delivered innovations in previous development projects for high-end road cars and series application for race cars, such as interior and bodywork components for the BMW M4 GT4, bodywork for the BMW M4 DTM, and cooling shafts for the BMW iFE.20 in Formula E.