Driving Sustainability: CRF’s Role in Validating Bio-Composites for Automotive Interiors

CRF (Centro Ricerche Fiat), as leader of WP5 (Validation and Demonstration) in the BIOntier project, plays a central role in translating innovative sustainable materials into concrete automotive applications. The team is responsible for validating and demonstrating the performance of newly developed solutions across the project’s Use Cases, ensuring their compatibility with industrial requirements and automotive standards. Through its expertise in materials engineering, component validation, and application-driven development, CRF contributes to accelerating the transition towards more sustainable and circular material solutions in the mobility sector.

In UC1 (Automotive Interior Components), CRF focuses on the development of a highly bio-based composite material, composed of PHA reinforced with bamboo fibres and a small addition of glass fibre (2–3%), with an overall bio-based content of around 95%. The objective is to provide a sustainable alternative to conventional automotive materials such as PP and PC/ABS, while meeting the functional and quality requirements demanded for interior applications. CRF’s activities include the development of the material solution, its processing into demonstrator components, and the evaluation of its technical suitability for automotive use.

Project Update

CRF is currently advancing the development and validation of this innovative bio-composite for automotive interiors. Current activities are focused on assessing the balance between sustainability, processability, and performance, with particular attention to the integration of PHA with bamboo fibres and limited glass fibre reinforcement. The work aims to demonstrate the feasibility of replacing traditional fossil-based materials with a lightweight, high bio-content alternative suitable for automotive interior components.