Building on previous successes, the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp will be at the core of a newly enlarged Bio-Materials Village in Hall 5 at at JEC World 2026 in Paris from March 10-12.

The village has grown by more than 30% this year, expanding to 333 square metres, and it will feature 14 Alliance members and partners representing the full natural fibre composite value chain, from fibre cultivation and processing through to semi-finished materials, resins and industrial applications.

This year’s village welcomes several new members, including Norafin, which will showcase its advanced technical nonwoven expertise using flax and hemp fibres and start-up Biofibix which is developing next-generation bio-based composite solutions. Another new participant is GreenPoxy by Sicomin, a leading supplier of bio-based epoxy resins that complement natural fibre reinforcement systems and enable lower-impact composite structures.

Innovations showcase

The Bio-Materials Village will highlight several JEC Innovation Award winners and finalists.

Bcomp has received the 2026 Automotive and Road Transportation Parts Award for its series-production exterior flax composite components developed for BMW, demonstrating the scalability and performance of flax reinforcements in demanding automotive applications.

Safilin will also present its collaboration with Stratiforme on the Ecotrain project involving the successful integration of natural fibre composites into rail interiors to deliver weight reduction, improved environmental performance and industrial feasibility.

Biofibix, which is among the 20 finalists of the 2026 JEC Startup Booster, will present its proprietary reinforcement technology designed to overcome one of the key challenges of natural fibre composites – structural consistency. Biofibix develops flax-based reinforcement systems that combine controlled fibre orientation with thermoplastic and thermoset compatibility, enabling improved mechanical performance and process reliability.

Visitors will also discover the Ssuchy-Next project, an initiative focused on wind energy applications. The project is exploring the use of hemp-based composite solutions for a 12.6 metre wind turbine blade, combining optimised fibre architecture, bio-sourced materials and industrial manufacturing processes. Ssuchy-Next demonstrates how natural fibres can contribute to reduced carbon footprint and improved vibration damping with end-of-life advantages, while meeting the mechanical and durability requirements of the wind energy sector.

Additional innovations will be displayed by other Alliance members and partners including Circular Structures, Demgy, Depestele, Ecotechnilin, Emanuel Lang Flax Composites, Flaxco, Libeco, Linificio e Canapificio Nazionale, Norafin, Safilin and Terre de Lin Technique.

Exchange programme

As part of the JEC Composite Exchange programme, Alliance experts will organise a round-table discussion on Wednesday 11 March at 2:00 pm in Agora 5, From Data to Applications: How Environmental and Technical Flax-Linen & Hemp Data Help Build Industrial Solutions.

The discussion will stress that environmental metrics and technical performance data are essential tools for designers, engineers and manufacturers in accelerating the adoption of natural fibre composites, while exploring the latest technical advances, their environmental performance and the strategic pathways supporting their industrial deployment of bio-based composites in Europe.

“We are very excited to welcome visitors to our expanded Bio-Materials Village at JEC World 2026, which brings together an extended natural fibre composite value chain under one roof,” said Bruno Pech, innovation project manager at the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp. “With 14 members and partners from raw materials to finished applications, this showcase demonstrates the maturity, credibility and innovation capacity of the European flax and hemp composites sector.”

www.allianceflaxlinenhemp.eu