Please note that the auto-translation function (beta) uses the 3rd-party tool to translate contents based on the English version of the website and it may occur incorrect results sometimes.
x
2027·4·13 - 16
Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center (Bao'an), PR China
Quick Links:
Top Search Exhibitor
Market News
EU Project Delivers Lightweight Biocomposites for Sustainable Transport
Publish date: 2026-10-02
The EU-funded Forest project has developed lightweight biocomposites for automotive, aerospace, and bus applications, achieving up to 35% weight reductions while maintaining performance and safety standards.
Reducing vehicle weight is one of the most effective ways to improve transport efficiency and lower emissions. In this context, the EU-funded Forest project, coordinated by Spain's Aimplas, the Plastics Technology Centre, has developed and validated advanced lightweight biocomposites for automotive, aerospace, and bus applications, achieving weight reductions of up to 35% compared with conventional components while maintaining performance, safety, and durability and, where relevant, electromagnetic interference shielding.
The project's results have demonstrated that it is possible to develop transport components containing more than 50% sustainable materials by combining bio-based feedstocks, recycled carbon fibers, and functional additives without compromising performance, safety, or industrial feasibility.
Manufacturing Efficiency Alongside Sustainability
Biocomposite processing optimization delivered a 15 – 25% reduction in energy consumption compared with conventional methods, driven by accelerated curing chemistry that cut cycle times by 20 – 40%, one-shot manufacturing concepts that eliminated intermediate processing steps, and the removal of freezer storage requirements. Further, engineering costs fell by 15 – 20% through simplified tooling, fewer mold iterations, and increased process robustness.
""[The Forest project] demonstrates that sustainability, lightweighting, and safety are not competing objectives. By integrating bio-based chemistry, recycled carbon fibers, and multifunctional performance, we are reshaping advanced composites for the future of mobility,"" said Fernando Ramos, Forest project coordinator at Aimplas.
Real-World Proof
To demonstrate the industrial feasibility of the developed materials and manufacturing processes, the Forest project designed, manufactured, and validated three demonstrators addressing key challenges in automotive, aerospace, and public transport applications:
Electric vehicle battery cover: A thermoset compression-molded enclosure using a bio-benzoxazine matrix with recycled carbon fiber reinforcement and bio-based flame-retardant and EMI-shielding additives, validated for structural performance, fire resistance, and electromagnetic shielding.
Aeronautic cockpit ceiling panel: A lightweight thermoplastic composite solution using recycled carbon fiber organosheet reinforcement and bio-based polyamide (PA) overmolding, replacing conventional phenolic-resin panels with improved sustainability and equivalent aerospace performance.
Bus roof pultrusion profile: Continuous structural profiles produced by combining recycled carbon fiber yarn with bio-PA via thermoplastic pultrusion, a scalable and automated route to high-performance bus roof components.
Bio-Based Resins at Pilot Scale
Supporting the development of these demonstrators was another major milestone of the project: the pilot-scale development, optimization, and validation of three bio-based resin systems tailored to the specific requirements of different transport applications. The three systems — a bio-acrylic resin, a bio-benzoxazine resin, and a bio-PA 6 — met the requirements for integration into the final demonstrators, demonstrating progress in bio-based content, processability, and multifunctional performance.
The bio-acrylic resin system based on Arkema's Elium — Arkema's low-viscosity, in-situ polymerizing acrylic thermoplastic composite resin — achieved stable formulations with about 25% bio-based content while maintaining recyclability, processability, and thermomechanical performance. Its integration with recycled carbon fiber was demonstrated using compression resin transfer molding (C-RTM) and organosheet processing.
The bio-benzoxazine resin system reached approximately 85 – 87% renewable carbon, with catalyst selection and post-curing improving curing, thermal stability, and mechanical properties, enabling use in sheet molding compound (SMC) compression molding for automotive applications.
The bio-PA system was developed in partial and full bio-based versions. The Forest project showed polymerization feasibility and scale-up, optimizing formulations for viscosity, fiber impregnation, and compatibility with pultrusion and overmolding processes.
Closing the Loop on Carbon Fiber
Alongside increasing the use of bio-based materials, the project has also focused on the valorization of carbon fiber waste to support more circular solutions for the transport sector.
Carbon fiber is one of the most energy-intensive materials used in transport. The project targeted the recovery of up to 100% of carbon fiber waste, converting it into high-quality semi-finished materials for new applications. The project confirmed that properly recovered fibers retain a high proportion of their original mechanical performance, a critical finding for circular composite value chains.
As Forest concludes, the project provides a clear example of how European research and innovation can help the transport industry reduce weight, cut process energy demand, increase sustainable material content, and add value to carbon fiber waste. Its demonstrators show that circular, lightweight, and safe composite solutions are no longer only laboratory concepts but validated prototypes with a pathway toward industrial uptake.
Reducing vehicle weight is one of the most effective ways to improve transport efficiency and lower emissions. In this context, the EU-funded Forest project, coordinated by Spain's Aimplas, the Plastics Technology Centre, has developed and validated advanced lightweight biocomposites for automotive, aerospace, and bus applications, achieving weight reductions of up to 35% compared with conventional components while maintaining performance, safety, and durability and, where relevant, electromagnetic interference shielding.
The project's results have demonstrated that it is possible to develop transport components containing more than 50% sustainable materials by combining bio-based feedstocks, recycled carbon fibers, and functional additives without compromising performance, safety, or industrial feasibility.
Manufacturing Efficiency Alongside Sustainability
Biocomposite processing optimization delivered a 15 – 25% reduction in energy consumption compared with conventional methods, driven by accelerated curing chemistry that cut cycle times by 20 – 40%, one-shot manufacturing concepts that eliminated intermediate processing steps, and the removal of freezer storage requirements. Further, engineering costs fell by 15 – 20% through simplified tooling, fewer mold iterations, and increased process robustness.
""[The Forest project] demonstrates that sustainability, lightweighting, and safety are not competing objectives. By integrating bio-based chemistry, recycled carbon fibers, and multifunctional performance, we are reshaping advanced composites for the future of mobility,"" said Fernando Ramos, Forest project coordinator at Aimplas.
Real-World Proof
To demonstrate the industrial feasibility of the developed materials and manufacturing processes, the Forest project designed, manufactured, and validated three demonstrators addressing key challenges in automotive, aerospace, and public transport applications:
Electric vehicle battery cover: A thermoset compression-molded enclosure using a bio-benzoxazine matrix with recycled carbon fiber reinforcement and bio-based flame-retardant and EMI-shielding additives, validated for structural performance, fire resistance, and electromagnetic shielding.
Aeronautic cockpit ceiling panel: A lightweight thermoplastic composite solution using recycled carbon fiber organosheet reinforcement and bio-based polyamide (PA) overmolding, replacing conventional phenolic-resin panels with improved sustainability and equivalent aerospace performance.
Bus roof pultrusion profile: Continuous structural profiles produced by combining recycled carbon fiber yarn with bio-PA via thermoplastic pultrusion, a scalable and automated route to high-performance bus roof components.
Bio-Based Resins at Pilot Scale
Supporting the development of these demonstrators was another major milestone of the project: the pilot-scale development, optimization, and validation of three bio-based resin systems tailored to the specific requirements of different transport applications. The three systems — a bio-acrylic resin, a bio-benzoxazine resin, and a bio-PA 6 — met the requirements for integration into the final demonstrators, demonstrating progress in bio-based content, processability, and multifunctional performance.
The bio-acrylic resin system based on Arkema's Elium — Arkema's low-viscosity, in-situ polymerizing acrylic thermoplastic composite resin — achieved stable formulations with about 25% bio-based content while maintaining recyclability, processability, and thermomechanical performance. Its integration with recycled carbon fiber was demonstrated using compression resin transfer molding (C-RTM) and organosheet processing.
The bio-benzoxazine resin system reached approximately 85 – 87% renewable carbon, with catalyst selection and post-curing improving curing, thermal stability, and mechanical properties, enabling use in sheet molding compound (SMC) compression molding for automotive applications.
The bio-PA system was developed in partial and full bio-based versions. The Forest project showed polymerization feasibility and scale-up, optimizing formulations for viscosity, fiber impregnation, and compatibility with pultrusion and overmolding processes.
Closing the Loop on Carbon Fiber
Alongside increasing the use of bio-based materials, the project has also focused on the valorization of carbon fiber waste to support more circular solutions for the transport sector.
Carbon fiber is one of the most energy-intensive materials used in transport. The project targeted the recovery of up to 100% of carbon fiber waste, converting it into high-quality semi-finished materials for new applications. The project confirmed that properly recovered fibers retain a high proportion of their original mechanical performance, a critical finding for circular composite value chains.
As Forest concludes, the project provides a clear example of how European research and innovation can help the transport industry reduce weight, cut process energy demand, increase sustainable material content, and add value to carbon fiber waste. Its demonstrators show that circular, lightweight, and safe composite solutions are no longer only laboratory concepts but validated prototypes with a pathway toward industrial uptake.
Source: Plastics Today