BMW has unveiled the M Visionary Materials Seat, a design research project that aims to develop a sustainable, lightweight automobile seat that incorporates circularity concepts. In keeping with BMW’s commitment to sustainability, the seat is made of a range of natural and renewable materials, such as fiber composites, natural fibers, leather substitutes, and polymers derived from algae.
The seat’s simple support components have a unique, cage-like form since they are made of a robotically wrapped fiber composite. Additionally, BMW used a “groundbreaking” additive manufacturing technique, referring to it as a revolutionary technology that does away with the necessity for finishing procedures, chemical post-treatment, and support structures.
“The BMW M Visionary Materials Seat focuses on circular design principles and sustainable materials,” says BMW. Using a monomaterial design approach, the seat’s components are composed of biogene leather substitutes, recycled polyester textile, and flaxfiber BioComposite. Additionally, the design replaces petroleum-based raw materials with bio-based equivalents made from algae and plant-based fillers like cork and chalk.
BMW claims that the new seat design lowers CO2 emissions by 90% when compared to their M carbon bucket seat. Furthermore, the seat’s streamlined modular form and type-based material grouping make recycling easy when its lifecycle comes to an end.
