Marine
Sustainable solutions for high-end marine applications
Natural fibres for sustainable design
The freedom and closeness to the elements at sea have always fascinated humans. However, many materials commonly used in boat building today eventually end up polluting that very environment because they end up in landfills. Our natural fibre solutions ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ do not only offer environmental benefits and viable end-of-life options, but also novel design opportunities and excellent vibration damping.
The future of responsible boat building
As society is increasingly concerned about the well-being of our planet and the eco footprint left for future generations, sustainable materials are increasingly sought after also in the marine sector.
Our high-performance natural fibre reinforcements ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ materials offer viable alternatives to carbon- and glass fibres. These technologies enable new opportunities in the construction of more sustainable and lightweight structures, from structural (hull, stringers, bulkheads) to semi- and non-structural (floorboards, cable trays and furniture) components. Our ampliTex™ reinforcements shine thanks to their outstanding compatibility with traditional synthetic reinforcements and standard resin systems currently used in the marine market. This allows our customers to combine the benefits of our natural fibre reinforcement fabrics with carbon fibre if an extra boost in stiffness is required. At the same time, the transition to a more responsible reinforcement material is made easy for our customers as they can stick to the manufacturing processes that they already know.
Sustainable performance
Our flax fibres are CO2 neutral over their life cycle, and the fibres themselves are biologically decomposable. The production of parts made from ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ has a 85% lower CO2 footprint than that of thin-walled monolithic carbon fibre parts with equal stiffness and weight. Production consumables are reduced, saving both costs and waste. At the end of their life, parts can be used for thermal energy recovery without residual waste within the standard waste management system rather than ending up in landfills.
Benefits
CO2 neutral reinforcements
Bcomp’s flax fibres are CO2 neutral cradle-to-gate. Taking part in a natural cycle of biogenic CO2, the flax plant absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere during its growth and stores it for the entirety of its lifetime as a plant and composite reinforcement. Bcomp is proud and happy to support its customers with relevant LCA data.
High vibration damping
Flax fibres are natural talents when it comes to vibration damping. They outperform traditional composite reinforcements and deliver a very smooth and damp performance in a lightweight package.
Fully customisable
The needs of our customers are as diverse and unique as themselves. Therefore, we do not confine ourselves to a standard portfolio only but offer a vast range of customisation. Bespoke weaves and colours to achieve your signature look, a reinforcement optimised for your mechanical needs or a fire-resistant solution – we have got you covered.
Hybrid reinforcement fabrics
ampliTex™ reinforcements allow you to create lightweight parts and components without compromising performance and can be combined with traditional synthetic reinforcements. To combine the best of both worlds, we develop custom hybrid reinforcement fabrics that combine natural fibres with glass or carbon. On-demand solutions to fulfil your unique needs.
A Few Customer Highlights
They trust in our high-performance solutions to work towards a cleaner future.
Our good friends from Northern Light Composites have just launched the world’s first recyclable production boat at The Ocean Race Grand Finale in Genoa. Following the great success of award-winning ecoracer25, the ecoracer30 OD takes everything a step further. The first production boat to utilise Northern Light Composites’ proprietary rComposite technology is a 9-meter sailing boat, designed by acclaimed yacht designer Matteo Polli who has an impressive track record in designing ORC championship-winning yachts.
Northern Light Composites’ ecoracer30
The latest generation of kayaks by the innovative Melker of Sweden are made of natural and sustainable ampliTex™ flax fibres. Lightweight, strong, aesthetic, durable and versatile, they offer great playfulness paired with excellent manoeuverability, these kayaks are extremely well received.
Melker of Sweden Kayaks
The Baltic Yachts Café Racer is a 68-foot daysailer. Using the latest technologies to reduce its eco footprint, it is fitted with an electric propulsion and generation system and with a hull made of 50% ampliTex™ low density flax fibres.
The Baltic Yachts 68 Café Racer
Improve environmental impact
- CO2 neutral fibre
- Thermal energy recovery within municipal waste management system at end-of-life
Technological advantages
- Increased vibration damping improves comfort and reduces noise
- Radiotransparent and non-conductive
- Same CTE as carbon fibres, allowing for hybrid layups
Unique design opportunities
- Beautiful aesthetics and new lighting opportunities with ampliTex™, thanks to its natural translucency
- Possibility to customise the aesthetics of the fabrics on-demand
Manufacturing Process
Bcomp’s ampliTex™ is available as dry fibre or natural fibre prepreg from trusted partners, making it suitable for vacuum infusion, autoclave, prepreg compression moulding (PCM) or RTM processes. It is easy, safe and downright pleasant to handle. There are no itching fibres, dangerous splinters or toxic fibre dust.
Resin transfer moulding
Dry ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ reinforcements are fully suited to resin transfer moulding manufacturing processes. This opens new doors for parts manufacturers from all sectors to take advantage of the countless aesthetic opportunities and sustainable lightweighting benefits of our natural fibre composite solutions. Let us help you to replace glass and carbon fibres with a renewable and beautiful alternative.
Autoclace & prepreg compression moulding
Bcomp’s ampliTex™ natural fibre reinforcements are available as prepreg material from our trusted partners. By working in close collaboration with the best prepreggers, we can assure that ampliTex™ prepregs provide the best resin-to-fibre-weight ratio, ideal tack and our engineering team is here to support our customers with the right parameters for both autoclave and compression moulding production. Our ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ reinforcements can be used in the exact same moulds as carbon and glass fibres, making for an easy transition to a more sustainable material.
Vacuum infusion
ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ natural fibre reinforcements can be used in vacuum infusion processes in the same moulds as carbon or glass fibres. The powerRibs™ grid adds another significant benefit to the manufacturing process as its properties make the additional flow media superfluous. This means that by switching to a natural fibre layup with ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ or a hybrid layup of carbon or glass fibres with powerRibs™, you can significantly reduce the use of consumables and therefore waste from production.
Get in Touch
Get in touch with us to discuss how our sustainable lightweighting solutions can help you decarbonise your products and move towards a circular solution.
Want to Join the Team?
Are you looking for a unique opportunity? Come and work with us! Bcomp is always looking for talented and experienced individuals that want to join us on our journey towards a circular economy and contribute with their technical and practical knowledge.
News
Applications
Our high-performance material solutions build on the exceptional properties of renewable flax fibres to replace standard engineering materials in areas from automotive to mass transportation and from motorsports to luxury yachting and sports without sacrificing any performance.
Automotive
Our solutions for large-scale automotive interior and exterior parts enable exceptional weight- and plastic reduction while introducing completely novel design opportunities.
Mass Transportation
Buses, trains, subways, and airplanes – thanks to our specialist products like fire resistant ampliTex™ natural fibre reinforcements, the benefits of sustainable lightweighting that have already convinced the automotive industry can also have an impact across the full bandwidth of mass transportation.
Motorsports and Supercars
Match the performance of carbon fibres with natural fibres thanks to our proprietary motorsport solutions. Improve safety and vibration damping while reducing environmental impact.
Sports
Natural fibres for enhanced performance and feeling. Sustainable and lightweight, our ampliTex™ flax reinforcement fabrics enable innovation in sports gear by increasing performance, delivering a signature feeling and reducing environmental impact.
Marine
From kayaks and sailing boats to ultimate luxury yachts, we provide beautiful, sustainable and vibration damping material solutions for both interior- and exterior applications.
Lifestyle
Luggage, designer watches, consumer electronics and luxury furniture, our sustainable natural fibre materials are extremely versatile and offer a distinct and customisable natural beauty and aesthetic while adding functional benefits.
Infrastructure
From bridges to entire building facades and interior structures, our ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ solutions can create architectural objects with extraordinary design and aesthetics while using a renewable material instead of conventional fossil-based materials.
Let’s Decarbonise the World Together!
You want to learn more about how our sustainable lightweighting solutions can help you decarbonise your products, you have a burning question, or you just want to send us some love – then wait no longer and get in touch.