AUTOBIO Project

Obtaining lightweight and functional automotive components from sustainable materials by gas assisted injection moulding

The aim of the project is to develop bio-based plastic components for electric cars, with a dual purpose: to reduce the carbon footprint and improve properties.

  • Start date: 01/01/2025.
  • Finish date: 31/12/2027.

A key point in the automotive industry’s progress towards a sustainable industry is the transition to materials with a lower environmental impact, including recycled materials or bio-based materials, obtained from alternative sources to fossil or petroleum-based sources, as well as the promotion of a circular economy.

The AUTOBIO project presents a plan to work within the objectives defined in the European strategies through the reduction of emissions and decarbonisation by weight reduction, as well as the development of bio-based plastic materials. The project also addresses the introduction of new functionalities in the biomaterials developed, providing them with properties such as protection against noise or the reduction of volatile emissions.

Objectives

The main objective of the project is the development of bio-based plastic components for automotive and more specifically for electric car applications, with a double purpose:

  1. Reduction of the carbon footprint by lightening with respect to the plastic components currently used and through the use of biopolymers.
  2. Improvement of properties: acoustic protection through foaming processes and reduction of volatile emissions.

 

Both characteristics will be intrinsic to the material used, avoiding the integration of hybrid components, thus reducing the complexity of the manufacturing process and facilitating the subsequent reprocessing of the material.

NAITEC's role in AUTOBIO

NAITEC is actively involved in several activities of the project. Its main role is:

  • Study of the compounding process.
  • Mechanical, rheological and acoustic characterisation of foamed biopolymers.
  • Prediction of mechanical and acoustic properties using AI.
  • Life cycle analysis of bio-based foamed components.

Partners

Cosmos Innova (líder)
AIN
Centro Tecnológico NAITEC

Funding

This project is funded by the Government of Navarra under the 2024 call for collaborative R&D projects.