Autoneum has developed a front trunk solution for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) made entirely from polyester-based textiles.

The Ultra-Silent Frunk delivers a significant weight reduction and improved acoustic and thermal insulation compared to alternatives and incorporates up to 70% recycled content.

The company, which is headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland, has already received orders for the new frunk from three major OEMs in Asia and Europe and series production for two BEVs has been underway in China and Germany since 2025.

“With the frunk made from our environmentally friendly Ultra-Silent polyester textile technology, we are supporting automotive manufacturers in minimising their CO2 footprints,” says Cyro Rovath, global exteriors product manager at Autoneum. “Production for two additional vehicles will start in China within the next few months.”

At the front of a BEV, the absence of a combustion engine creates additional storage space under the bonnet, known as the frunk. Autoneum’s frunk combines lightweight construction and high mechanical robustness within a functionally integrated design.

Compared with conventional frunk systems consisting of multiple solid plastic parts and complex assembly, Autoneum’s Ultra-Silent Frunk is engineered as a single, lightweight, monomaterial component and can be adapted to the technical and aesthetic requirements of automotive manufacturers. Eliminating individual components simplifies manufacturing and assembly while achieving weight reductions of up to five kilograms depending on geometry, the number of components and part size.

Highly sound-absorbing Ultra-Silent reduces noise both inside and outside the vehicle, while tests conducted under controlled conditions show that ice placed in it remained frozen for up to 28 hours at an ambient temperature of 30°C, significantly outperforming conventional plastic alternatives.

Based on simulations, the Ultra-Silent Frunk also offers potential improvements in pedestrian protection and passive safety compared with injection-moulded plastic solutions.

www.autoneum.com