Fraunhofer WKI
Car made of plant fibers on the road soon?

 Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut (WKI), Braunschweig/Germany, and Hobum Oleochemicals GmbH, Hamburg/Germany, aim to develop a bio-composite material made of plant fibers and vegetable oil-based resin systems that can be processed industrially into car body components. Using the Bioconcept-Car as a test module, the technical performance of the components will be optimized until they are ready for series production road approval.
BioResinProcess is a seamless continuation of the funded project "Sustainable biohybrid lightweight construction for future-oriented mobility", which was completed in summer 2020. This is the first successful series production of a body component made of natural fiber-reinforced materials. In the follow-up project, the bio-content of the components is to be increased to at least 85% and their processing optimized using the RTM (resin transfer molding) process.