Volkswagen Unveils Plan for Hemp Leather Car Interiors
Volkswagen presents sustainable leather alternative for automobile interiors made from industrial hemp. Copyright: Volkswagen AG
Hemp is coming to the automobile industry. German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen has teamed up with local start-up Revoltech GmbH for a research project that aims to develop new sustainable materials based on industrial hemp. The ultimate goal is large-scale production of innovative surface material made of hemp residues that can be used for Volkswagen’s automobile interiors. The material that’s being currently tested is called LOVR™.
Volkswagen plans to switch to sustainable surface hemp material for its automobile interiors starting 2028, the company said in a press release.
The new innovative material marketed by the company is said to be made from 100% bio-based hemp residues, and won’t need new industrial plants to manufacture it. It can be produced in existing ones, and recycled or composted at the end of its service life in an automobile, the company said.
Volkswagen Says Its Industrial Hemp Imitation Leather Is 100% Bio-Based
The joint teams of Volkswagen and Revoltech have been working for some time now on the material innovation, which is supposed to substitute surface imitation leather used in automobile interiors.
“In our search for new materials, we are very open to new ideas from many different industries,” said Kai Grünitz, who is a Brand Board Member for Technical Development at Volkswagen. “At Technical Development, we place a strong focus on innovative, creative and sustainable solutions for holistic, resource-saving vehicle development,” Grünitz said in a press release.
The imitation leather material that’s being tested is reportedly made from industrial hemp cultivated for the food industry. It’s an all-natural 100% biological single-layer surface material called LOVR™, an abbreviation that stands for leather-free, oil-free, vegan and residue-based.
“Our innovative surface material called LOVR™ that we are developing and testing for the automotive industry in cooperation with Volkswagen is scalable and groundbreaking for sustainability in the automotive sector,” said Lucas Fuhrmann, CEO and co-founder of Revoltech.
To produce the surface material, the developers’ team is combining hemp fibers and fully bio-based adhesive with the help of special technology. The imitation leather material is manufactured from hemp residues that have no further industrial application.
The automobile giant has already presented the new material to customers and has reportedly received very positive feedback.
“Our clear goal is to fuse customer wishes, sustainability requirements and corporate interests,” said Andreas Walingen, Head of Strategy at the Volkswagen automobile brand.
Walingen added that Volkswagen’s partnership with Revoltech was a good example of the benefits that start-ups and established companies can gain on both ends when combining their respective strengths.
Could we expect more automobile brands joining forces with companies in the hemp sector for the purposes of innovation? Volkswagen just might be paving the way forward for many others in the automobile industry indeed. And it’s a pity not to exploit all the sustainability potentials that hemp has to offer.
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Stephen Andrews
