BMW Group is taking flax-based composite components into series production.

The materials of Switzerland’s Bcomp are to be incorporated into the design of future production cars in both interior and exterior applications.

This marks a major milestone in the partnership between Bcomp and the BMW Group, who have worked closely together for a number of years to research and develop the use of the materials and prove their performance in a race environment. Bcomp’s technologies make it possible to replace parts that have until now been made with carbon fibre for many decades.

In one application, Bcomp’s high-performance natural fibre composites will be used for the roof of the next-generation BMW M3 and will enable a CO2e reduction of around 40% in production, with additional end-of-life considerations, compared to current carbon fibre composites.

Bcomp and BMW Group have also  developed a bespoke natural fibre colour and weave that meets the stringent demands made for roof structures. The public has already caught a glimpse of this unique material, which was used in the award-winning BMW M Visionary Materials Seat project.

The new materials are designed to integrate seamlessly into multiple and existing manufacturing processes at scale. The roof will be made using a fully automated RTM (resin transfer moulding) process which makes production fast and consistent.

Other interior and exterior parts will be made using the prepreg process, in which fibres pre-impregnated with resin are shaped and cured in an autoclave to ensure high quality and stiffness.

“Natural fibre composites are a vital element of new lightweight solutions in motorsport, allowing for a reduction in CO2e emissions in the manufacturing process,” said Franciscus van Meel, CEO of BMW M. “They exemplify BMW M’s claim to be ‘born on the racetrack and made for the streets’ and we are delighted to confirm the series maturity of these materials which we have achieved with our official BMW M Motorsport partner, Bcomp. We are now looking forward to the use of these materials in future BMW M product ranges.”

Collaborative journey

The roll-out of Bcomp’s materials into series production marks a race-to-road success. The long-standing and close partnership began with motorsport prototyping and has since delivered exceptional performance and sustainability gains across multiple racing platforms, including Formula E, DTM and GT4.

In 2019, Bcomp and BMW Motorsport pioneered the use of CO2 reduced materials in Formula E by using ampliTex and powerRibs materials to build a high-performance cooling shaft for the BMW iFE.20 race car. The 2022 BMW M4 GT4 brought the partners closer to the road, featuring more natural fibre parts than any GT race car to date, both inside and out.

This transition from track to road has been further accelerated through strategic investment by BMW i Ventures into Bcomp’s funding rounds in 2022 and 2024. This financial and strategic support has played a pivotal role in scaling Bcomp’s solutions to meet the stringent requirements of exterior automotive components.

 “At BMW i Ventures, we invest in young companies with the potential to bring innovations into large-scale production series,” said Marcus Behrendt, managing partner at BMW i Ventures. “That is exactly what we identified in Bcomp leading the way for sustainable and innovative composites.”

“Using these natural fibre-based materials on exterior parts for series-production road cars did seem impossible to many, but through our passionate teams collaborating closely we have been able to achieve the unthinkable,” added Johann Wacht, Bcomp’s business development manager. “This work with BMW M acts as a lighthouse project that shows the automotive world what is possible when resilience, teamwork and big dreams join forces.”

www.bcomp.com

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