Covestro, Toyota Boshoku co-develop PU composite for LQ concept car

Lightweight materials will play an increasingly important role in future mobility and typically will further extend the range of electric cars. Covestro, which is among the world’s largest polymer companies, and Toyota Boshoku Corporation,  a car component manufacturer of the Japanese Toyota Group, have jointly developed a new polyurethane composite material for the new electric concept car ‘LQ’ developed by Toyota Motor Corporation.

The material is based on a combination of Covestro's advanced Baypreg F NF technology and Toyota Boshoku's expertise in using kenaf fibres, and offers a lightweight and sustainable solution. In the LQ concept car, the new product is used in door trims, where it makes its world premiere in a car model of this manufacturer.

Kenaf is a member of the hibiscus genus and is growing in regions such as South East Asia, Bangladesh, India and Africa. The fiber is obtained from bast fibers of the kenaf plant and has recently attracted increasing attention as a cost-effective raw material with good mechanical properties. In the automotive industry, the plant fiber is also attracting increasing interest as an alternative raw material.

Light and stiff
The kenaf fibre-reinforced polyurethane foam composite is characterised by a very low area density of less than 1 kg/m² and high strength, making the door trim made of the fibre-reinforced kenaf polyurethane foam 30 percent lighter than that produced from conventional materials. The lighter the material, the further the car can travel on a single gas or battery charge.

The new composite material was developed in close cooperation between Toyota Boshoku and Covestro's recently renovated Japanese Innovation Center. “Our joint development makes an important contribution to the design of particularly lightweight and sustainable vehicles,” says Hiroaki Ido, Head of Polyurethanes Application Development for Transportation at Covestro's Japanese Innovation Center. “It is also a good example of our company's focus on using alternative raw materials and establishing a circular economy.”