Grupo Antolin develops the first car headliner substrate made from plastic waste and used tyres
New Market for Tyre Recyclate
Grupo Antolin has presented the first auto headliner substrate produced by thermoforming a PU foam with materials made from urban and post-consumer plastic waste and end-of-life tyres.
The headliner part looks like a standard headliner and performs exactly the without any reduction in the physical properties of the headliner. This accomplishment has been possible thanks to a material’s manufacturing process developed by BASF (by means of chemical recycling) that Antolin has validated and introduced in a fully electric European premium car that has just been launched to the market.
Approximately 50 per cent of the headliner weight is recycled. In this particular project, 100% of the textile, 70% of the core foam, and 70% of the plastic sunroof reinforcement frame have been obtained from residues that could not be recycled in any other way and would have been, ultimately, disposed in landfills.
“This project is a step towards a more sustainable car interior trim and a huge leap for the Wet PU technology. A technology that has demonstrated to be the most competitive in terms of cost and quality, fulfilling at the same time the most demanding specifications from our clients,” says Enrique Fernandez, Advanced Engineering Director, Overhead Systems BU.
“We are going one step further by deploying the strategy among our clients worldwide. Our next project featuring recycled core PU foam will be unveiled in 2022 and it will be manufactured using renewable electricity. Our commitment is to reduce the generation of waste and emissions in all our production processes,” highlights Javier Blanco, Grupo Antolin’s Sustainability Director.
Source: Grupo Antolin
