Sustainable materials in cars:
Volkswagen opts for non-animal
leather and recycled materials

The well-established and often only alternative to date was imitation leather, which is predominantly based on plastics made of mineral oil, such as polyurethane or PVC. So, during a brainstorming session held by the team for biomaterials at Volkswagen Group Innovation, the idea of coffee leather was formed, since when the beans are roasted, the silver skin surrounding the coffee bean ends up being a residual material. The silver skins are a perfect filler for imitation leather. The substance builds up dried, and in a format very well suited for further processing.

The non-animal imitation leather with its high proportion of biological materials could soon be used for car seats and arm rests in prototypes. “There is huge potential, and this could be one of the next steps for further optimising the ecological footprint of our ID. electric fleet,” says Dr. Martina Gottschling, a Volkswagen Group Innovation researcher.

And the search for new, sustainable materials continues: at the Open Hybrid LabFactory (OHLF) on the outskirts of Wolfsburg, Volkswagen is researching alternative materials for automotive engineering. To improve the environmental balance of electric cars in the process, the circular economy is an increasingly important factor – this includes developing plastics from recycled materials and using natural materials in biological cycles.

Dr. Marko Gernuks is the Volkswagen representative on the OHLF board of management and says: “We want to shape processes, materials and components in such a way that they make substantial improvements to the circular economy. To do so, we are planning to develop new plastics from recycled materials. We want to automate disassembly processes to separate materials economically, and we are choosing natural materials in biological cycles.”

One approach that Volkswagen researchers feel has huge potential is an increasing number of biomaterials. This is about much more than just industrial crops such as rapeseed or softwood – since these innovative materials can also be generated in the lab. For example, pure cellulose is being researched currently, which in its natural form can be found in the cell walls of plants, for example, in wood. In the lab, bacteria can generate this in a pure form. The natural polymer is very stable and resistant; it is also well suited to recycling processes in the car and can be composted.

For example, seat covers in Volkswagen cars could be made from lab-produced cellulose in future. It is already possible to cultivate the pure cellulose in the desired formats.

With this and other approaches, Volkswagen is striving to meet the growing demand for non-animal alternatives in car interiors on its “way to ZERO” – and to further improve the eco-balance of electric cars little by little. The manufacturer aims to be net zero carbon neutral by 2050.

Volkswagen has high standards for the durability of components and parts. Material development subjects new materials to around 40 tests before they are approved for series production in accordance with Volkswagen specifications.