12. Jan 2023
Flax based biocomposites for Hyundai
Environmental commitment is one of the hottest topics for 2023. Hyundai Motor Group and Hyundai America Technical Center showcased their respective activities at the Hyundai Open Innovation Lounge in Seoul, Korea. The Palisade concept vehicle features Lingrove’s innovative, high-performance, plant-based ekoa® for a luxury and interactive finish in the interior of the car.
Delivering a higher strength-to-weight ratio than steel, ekoa® from Lingrove (San Francisco, USA) is developed from renewable flax fibers to replace wood, laminates, and plastics with a carbon-neutral, ultra-sustainable material. ekoa® is already being used to replace rainforest trees and carbon composites in musical instruments and wood paneling in homes and offices, and is now in advanced automotive testing, as Lingrove extends ekoa® into car interiors. ekoa® is also available in a format with hidden transparency enabling backlighting effects and/or options for capacitive touch.
“The demand for reinventing mobility with sustainable ekoa® interiors is incredibly strong,” says Joe Luttwak, CEO of Lingrove. “After years of R&D and investment, our high-performance, beautiful, ekoa® is ready to meet our customers’ commitments to decarbonizing their vehicles - while transitioning their interiors to feel like living room spaces.”
Increasingly, customers are demanding healthy and sustainable interiors, without sacrificing luxury and beauty - at all price points. Automobile OEMs look to innovators like Lingrove to deliver the right products to their design and CMF teams. ekoa® on the Palisade doors reflects Hyundai Motor Group and HATCI’s commitment to sustainability and its confidence in the market demand for applying naturetech in even the toughest design challenges.
Watch a video clip here