Faurecia Interior Sustainable Composites Wins 2022 German Innovation Award

        At the 2022 German Innovation Award ceremony that ended not long ago, Faurecia, a subsidiary of FORVIA Group, won the "Excellence in Business-to-Business (B2B) Innovation - Automotive Technology" category award with its sustainable interior composite materials NAFILean-R and rCF NFPP.

        The German Innovation Award is an international award established by the German Brand Design Council. Its mission is to "recognize innovation" and to recognize innovative achievements that bring added value to users. This is the second time Faurecia has won the award after winning it in 2020. By using natural fibers, these award-winning sustainable composite materials set recycling standards and help reduce the weight of automotive interiors, thereby reducing the carbon footprint in automotive manufacturing.

        Contains 100% recycled carbon fiber, can reduce weight by 25%, reduce carbon emissions by 50%

        According to reports, rCF NFPP is a new composite material in Faurecia's NFPP series. It consists of 40% natural fiber, 50% polypropylene and 10% recycled carbon fiber. Due to the non-woven fabric layer containing 100% recycled carbon fiber, rCF NFPP has become a leading intelligent and advanced solution for sustainable interiors in the automotive industry. Inspired by industries such as aerospace, rCF NFPP can achieve a 50% weight reduction over injection solutions and a 25% weight reduction over standard compression molded parts.

        In the circular economy, sourcing renewable carbon fiber provides a new solution, using one-tenth of the energy required to process virgin carbon fiber. Thanks to the combination with natural and recycled carbon fiber, rCF NFPP can reduce the potential for greenhouse effect by 50% while reducing the weight of the product.

        Natural fiber-based hybrid material can reduce carbon emissions by 108%

        In addition to rCF NFPP, another "award-winning protagonist" NAFILean-R is a fully recyclable hybrid material based on natural fibers (such as hemp fibers), which is composed of about 20% organic components and a 100% recyclable polypropylene matrix, which can achieve a weight reduction of up to 25%. As a negative CO2 product, NAFILean-R can reduce related CO2 emissions by 108%. This groundbreaking project is also a unique solution for such applications on the market.

        Since its launch in 2011, the NAFILean® series has grown from one product to four. Currently, the NAFILean® series products have covered about 13 million vehicles worldwide and are widely used in various products such as dashboards, center consoles and door panels.

        The second and third generation carbon emission reduction materials have been mass-produced

        In recent years, automobile companies have proposed and practiced environmental protection concepts to protect the earth. Vehicle OEMs are naturally more stringent in the selection of product parts, requiring not only excellent performance but also sustainable properties. Faurecia continues to launch innovative solutions to customers' "green questions". For example, NFPP back injection - the second generation NFPP product developed by Faurecia to reduce carbon dioxide emissions can achieve weight reduction as much as possible without affecting product performance and mechanics. After continuous innovation and research and development, the material is no longer limited to being used as a back substrate based on the new processing technology. It can also be used as a visible exterior part and integrated with interactive functions, allowing consumers to feel the combination of technology and environmental protection from details to senses. At present, the material has been used in many models.

        Currently in the Chinese market, the third-generation product NFPP Co-injection has been mass-produced and widely used worldwide. In order to meet the needs of more customers for sustainable development, Faurecia is also continuing to promote the new generation of NFPP solutions, by adding new recycled materials to achieve greater weight reduction and provide higher part strength.

        Reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2030

        Sustainable materials not only effectively reduce the demand for plastics and help customers achieve sustainable development goals, but also support Faurecia's ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. As a leader in sustainable automotive interiors, Faurecia has also set itself a goal:

        By 2023, add more recycled content and more biofibers to NFPP and other lightweight materials and designs.

        By 2025, address currently visible parts, including adding more recycled content, improving production processes and recyclability, and creating a lean architecture for products.

        Reduce the material CO2 footprint by 87% by 2030.