Biopolymer specialist Biomer (Krailling / Germany; www.biomer.de) has introduced a polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) formulation for car interiors. With mechanical properties that resemble those of base material "P226", the new “Biomer” P304 does not contain substances that cause smell or fogging, as a result of which the grade previously was unusable in the automotive sector. Pilot production of the new biopolyester has already begun.

P304 is the result of the joint EU ECOplast project (Oberhausen / Germany; www.ecoplastproject.com), in which Biomer is involved. The project also includes research into the continuous production of thermoformable sheets with natural long fibre reinforcements, using P304 as a matrix material.

With EUR 4m in EU funding, ECOplast has the goal of driving the use of renewable materials in automotive construction. Led by the Galician Automotive Technology Centre (CTAG, Porriño Pontevedra / Spain; www.ctag.com), the project consist of 13 partners, including automotive supplier Grupo Antolin (Burgos / Spain; www.grupoantolin.es), machinery producer Pallmann (Zweibrücken / Germany; www.pallmann.eu) as well as PLA specialist Purac (Gorinchem / The Netherlands; www.purac.com), among others.