Promotio
n
“Thiscarwill bea
milestone in theuse
of next-generation
biomaterials in the
automotive industry”
TheFinnish forestcompanyUPM isdrivingreal
changewith theBioforeConceptCar
Awild ride
E
very year about 65million
cars aremanufactured in the
world, but fewhaveever
attempted tomake them
resource-efficient during
production, use andbeyond. Finnish
companyUPMdecided to give it a go.
The globally operatingbusiness approached
thisbold ideabychallenging theuseof themany
plasticcomponents found inamoderncar.
MakinguseofUPM’s innovativebiomaterials,
studentsatHelsinkiMetropoliaUniversity
of AppliedSciencesemployed
theirdesignandengineering
skills tocreate theBiofore
ConceptCar. The termBiofore
describesUPM’s integrationof the
bioand forest industries.
“TheBioforeConcept Car
is all about sustainability and
innovation,” saysUPM vice
president ElisaNilsson.
“Webelieve itwill be a
milestone in theuseof next-
generationbiomaterials in
the automotive industry. It
will alsodemonstrate their
benefits toother industries.”
New innovations can lengthen a vehicle’s
lifecycle inmanyways andby replacing
plasticcomponentswith thosemade
from lightermaterials, for example, the
overall weight is reduced, leading to
lower fuel consumption. Partsmadeof
biocomposites are recyclable and reusable,
andhave a lower environmental footprint in
production;moreover thecomponents are
safe anddurable.”
A carmade fromwood fibremight
not sound like a viablemodeof
transport, but it is designed to
be street-legal and runs on
UPM’swood-based renewable
diesel BioVerno.
TheBioforeConcept Car
is anexampleof howcar
manufacturing can take
strides towards amore
sustainable future,
without compromisingon
performance, safety or
reliability. Turns out,
the solution is growing in
the forest.
upm.com
