Fiat Automóveis is substituting petroleum-based components in the manufacturing of all of its car seats; all vehicles made by Fiat Group in Brazil are already leaving the site with 5 pct use of BioFoam, a vegetable based polymer.

Fiat and Iveco in Brazil are substituting petroleum-based components in the manufacturing of all of its car seats. All vehicles made by Fiat Group in Brazil are already leaving the site with 5 pct of BioFoam, a vegetable based polymer that does not compromise durability or performance of its products.

BioFoam is a technology that uses renewable resources in the manufacturing of foam for the automotive industry. The use of 30 to 40 pct of this resource is under research, but still has no target date for production.

Polyurethane is used in the manufacturing of foam for the automotive industry, but also has many other applications. Usually, it is based on fossil fuels. Developed by Cargill, the use of such renewable polyurethane was the result of a partnership between FIAT Automóveis, Iveco, Lear, TW Espumas and Isringhausen.

As a key component of its renewable resource strategy, BioFoam, a patented technology, substitutes petroleum with plant oils, in the manufacturing of polyurethane products. This earth-friendly solution for a full line-up of automotive interior applications includes; seat cushions, seat fabric composites, head restraints, arm rests, occupant protection components, trim cover laminates and overhead systems. BioFoam is the first mass-production ready, plant-based polyurethane foam solution, to meet all required customer performance criteria.

According to Dr. Hamdy Khalil, Global Director of Research and Development, and Product Development at The Woodbridge Group, this is just the start: “BioFoam is the best choice for environmentally viable automotive interiors. Currently. You are going to see substantially higher green content levels in the next generation. We have successfully produced foams with 100 pct Bio-Polyol in laboratory trials. If the industry adopted this level, Bio-Polyols alone could reduce fossil oil dependence by millions of barrels annually. Since Polyol only represents a portion of polyurethane’s chemistry, we are now working on the Isocyanate side of the formulation, to go even more green.”