Motorsports and Supercars
This Is Not Carbon – sustainable lightweighting for high-performance parts
Matching the performance of carbon fibres with natural fibres
“For the first time since carbon fibre entered the motorsport market 37 years ago, there is an alternative material for bodywork, and clearly a step to prepare motorsport for the future and to attract new generations.”, said Wiliam Kimberley, RACE TECH Editor-in -chief, at the World Motorsport Symposium 2018. Bcomp’s solution for replacing carbon fibres with powerRibs™ reinforced ampliTex™ natural fibre composites is live in some of the largest racing series and have proven their place on tracks around the world for seasons.
Sustainable lightweighting
Thanks to the powerRibs™ technology, a full-natural fibre layup of ampliTex™ + powerRibs™ matches the stiffness and weight of a monolithic carbon fibre part for motorsport bodywork and other thin-walled shell elements. As opposed to carbon fibres, this natural fibre composite has a ductile fracture behaviour with blunt edges, thus improving safety without sharp carbon fibre shattering and toxic carbon fibre dust. Furthermore the vibration damping is significantly improved.
Benefits
High performance
Matching stiffness and weight of thin-walled monolithic carbon fibre parts.
Improved safety
Ductile fracture behaviour and blunt edges, no toxic carbon fibre dust.
More sustainable
85% lower CO2 footprint from cradle to gate, end-of-life thermal energy recovery.
Customisable aesthetic
With a variety of weave and colour options, ampliTex™ is guaranteed to fulfil your wishes for sustainable design options. And with the possibility to completely customise and tailor our beautiful natural fibre composites to customer needs, your imagination is the only limit between you and the future of sustainable design.
Testimonials
They trust in our high-performance solutions to work towards a cleaner future.
“Our partnership with Bcomp has been a game-changer in helping us find new opportunities for incorporating natural fibre composites into our design and engineering. We worked with the Swiss cleantech specialist on Formula 1’s first natural fibre racing seat, which made its debut at the 2021 British Grand Prix.”
from the McLaren Racing Sustainability Report 2021
“Product sustainability is increasing in importance in the world of motorsport too. So, we are delighted to have Bcomp on board as an official BMW M Motorsport partner for the BMW M4 GT4 project.”
Franciscus van Meel, Chairman of the Board of Management at BMW M GmbH
“[…] it is our aspiration to constantly adapt our long-standing engineering know-how to current environmental requirements in order to be able to offer our customers sustainable products at the highest technological level. In Bcomp, we have got a development partner with extensive experience in sustainable materials. The result of our cooperation shows that technologically equivalent components can be created from alternative materials.”
Anne Mink, Manager Technical Development, HWA AG
“We must all ensure that natural fibre composites are used more and more in the world of automotive components.”
Eduard Ene, Specialist Interior GT-Road Cars, Porsche Motorsport
“Bcomp’s natural fibre technologies are a perfect match for the goals we set for ourselves in Extreme E, achieving the highest level of sustainable performance and safety. We are very happy about the successful collaboration with Bcomp as both companies are technology leaders in sustainable motorsports.”
Théophile Gouzin, Technical Director, Spark Racing Technology
Sustainability
The production of parts made from ampliTex™ and powerRibs™ has a 85% lower CO2 footprint than that of carbon fibre parts with equal weight and stiffness performance. Furthermore, as no bleeders and breathers are needed, production consumables are reduced, reducing both costs and waste. At the end of their life, parts can be used for thermal energy recovery without residual waste in the standard waste management system. Carbon- and glass fibres on the other hand sadly often end up in landfills.
Manufacturing Process
Bcomp offers both dry fibres and high-quality natural fibre prepregs from trusted partners. Thermoset production can be done using vacuum infusion, autoclave, prepreg compression moulding (PCM) or RTM in the same molds as for carbon fibre parts. The Bcomp engineering team provides optimisation of layups and can perform reverse engineering of existing carbon fibre parts to facilitate implementation. We support our clients all the way to the final parts.
Autoclave & 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.
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.
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.