Bcomp’s high-performance natural fiber materials will be used in BMW Group series-production models for both exterior and interior components. The natural fiber composite will be used in the roof of the next-generation BMW M3, resulting in a CO₂e reduction of around 40% in production, plus additional end-of-life considerations.
Franciscus van Meel, CEO of BMW M, said, “Natural fiber composites are a vital element of innovative lightweight solutions in motorsport, allowing for a reduction in COâ‚‚e emissions in the manufacturing process. Natural fiber is an innovation that perfectly exemplifies BMW M’s claim ‘Born on the racetrack. Made for the streets’. This is why we are delighted to confirm the series maturity of these materials, a breakthrough we achieved with our official BMW M Motorsport partner Bcomp. We are now looking forward to the use of these materials in future BMW M product ranges.”
The Bcomp and BMW fiber
Bcomp and BMW have collaborated for several years on developing a natural fiber color and weave – the material even meets the stringent demands of roof structures in total vehicle homologation, the auto maker says. The material was first seen in the BMW M Visionary Materials Seat project.
The materials are designed to integrate seamlessly into multiple, and existing, manufacturing processes at scale. The roof will be made using a fully automated process called resin transfer molding (RTM), which makes production fast and consistent.
Other interior and exterior parts will be made using a prepreg process — an industry method where fibers pre-impregnated with resin are shaped and cured in an autoclave (a high-pressure oven) to ensure high quality and stiffness.
Marcus Behrendt, managing partner at BMW i Ventures, commented, “At BMW i Ventures, we invest in young companies with the potential to bring innovations into large-scale production series. That is exactly what we identified in Bcomp leading the way for sustainable and innovative composites.”
Race-to-road success
The long-standing and close partnership between Bcomp and BMW began with motorsport prototyping and has since delivered performance and sustainability gains across multiple racing platforms, including Formula E, DTM and GT4.
Christian Fischer, CEO at Bcomp, said, “Transforming a bold idea into a market-ready product demands not only technical excellence but also a shared commitment to challenge the status quo. Working closely with BMW Group, who have taken a solutions-orientated approach to this challenge, we’ve continuously strived to push the boundaries of innovation and worked as a team to overcome obstacles. The next step of this journey will see our materials used in series production cars, but our partnership won’t end there – after all, great innovators never stop.”
In related news, Bcomp has joined forces with Kia to deploy its natural-fiber composite material, ampliTex, into key interior components of the new Concept EV2. Read the full article here
