Volvo Tech Fund Invests In Sustainable Lightweight Materials Fund Bcomp

Volvo's tech fund has made a strategic investment in Bcomp which is a Swiss company that develops high performance lightweight materials that are based on natural fibres. Bcomp uses flax fibres which is a bio based material that offers significant savings in terms of weight, energy use and emissions vise-a-v plastic materials. This comes as Volvo peruses its sustainability goals. 

Volvo and Bcomp claim that the material being developed enables design of aesthetic surfaces. Volvo also wants to deploy natural fibre composites in its next generation electric cars which are also lightweight that will enable it to compensate for the presence of batteries which dramatically increase the weight of the vehicles. Even its affiliate Polestar will leverage the technology developed by Bcomp. 

Volvo believes that Bcomp's materials are up to 50 percent lighters and enable it to use 70 per cent less plastic and generate 62 per cent lower CO2 emissions. 

The Volvo XC40 Recharge will go on sale in markets across Europe and America in 2020

“This investment is yet another example of our commitment to sustainability and strategic focus on reducing our carbon footprint. We have a long tradition of partnering with leading technology firms such as Bcomp, as we see joint benefits in helping them to scale and develop innovative products in global markets,”  said Alexander Petrofski, Head of the Volvo Cars Tech Fund. 

The 2021 concept recharge vehicle which was shown off last year will feature materials from Bcomp. It uses the flax composite for the lower storage areas, the back of the headrest and the footrest. Already, Volvo has its XC40 Recharge which is also launching in India later this year and its Polestar brand focuses just on EVs. But from a long term perspective, it will be going all in on electric cars by 2030 and be fully climate neutral by 2040. 

“We're very encouraged by the possibilities offered by flax composites, which is why we used them both in the interior and on the exterior of the Volvo Cars Concept Recharge. It is a material that is environmentally responsible with a very low carbon footprint that also delivers an attractive and natural aesthetic,” said Robin Page, Senior Vice President Design at Volvo Cars. 

Volvo is not the only EV maker pursuing synthetic fibres for composite materials — as Mercedes has also shown off something similar with the Vision EQXX.