- VW has begun a collaboration with German sustainable materials startup, Revoltech, to explore the use of a leather alternative, made from industrial hemp, inside Volkswagen cars.
- The manufacturer could use the material inside its cars by 2028, by which time a large proportion of its cars are set to be fully electric.
- The development is part of Volkswagen’s ‘Accelerate’ strategy, which also includes its push for EVs.
The next steps for sustainability in EVs.
Whilst electric vehicles have a strong sustainability front when it comes to zero-emission use, there is still work to be done when it comes to the sustainability of the materials within such cars, and this move from Volkswagen and Revoltech is a crucial step towards this.
The material, which is 100% bio-based, and made from residues from Germany’s industrial hemp industry, which is usually produced for the food industry. There has already had feedback from prospective customers, and it seems like the material is a realistic substitute for leather, with Volkswagen noting that feedback so far had been ‘very positive’. It’s also a fully circular product, which can easily be recycled or composted at the end of a vehicle’s life. The fact that the material can already be produced in existing factories also bodes well for a potential future mass-production of the material.
With VW hoping for 70% of its car sales in Europe to be fully electric by 2030, use of this material could give Volkswagen an edge on its electric competitors, particularly for consumers who have sustainability in the front of their mind when it comes to an EV purchase.
Andreas Walingen, Head of Strategy at VW, commented:
“The sustainable use of resources is a key pillar in our ACCELERATE strategy and is therefore firmly anchored in our mindset and our actions. Our clear goal is to fuse customer wishes, sustainability requirements and corporate interests.”
Lucas Fuhrmann, CEO and Co-Founder of Revoltech, added:
“Our innovative LOVR™ surface material, that we are developing and testing for the automotive industry in cooperation with Volkswagen, is scalable and groundbreaking for sustainability in the automotive sector.”
