Nantes, France-based automotive technology company Faurecia has announced the creation of a new division to develop and manufacture sustainable and smart materials.
Both Interiors and Faurecia Seating had previously launched initiatives to promote the development of sustainable material innovations within these groups.
The new division will now collaborate across business divisions, using its worldwide reach to build on the company’s strong market position in vehicle interiors and seats, with its portfolio of materials with ultra-low and negative CO2 emissions to support OEM’s sustainability goals.
Faurecia will capitalise on its ‘decades of experience in the development of bio-sourced materials’, said Faurecia’s CEO, Patrick Koller, to increase its contribution to the fight against climate change by investing significantly in the development of materials with very low CO2 footprints.
“This new innovative division, together with a best-in-class industrial and academic ecosystem, will help us achieve sales targets of €3bn by 2030 in this field, foster sustainable growth, and support efforts to meet our 2030 CO2 reduction commitments,” he added.
The company intends to construct a dedicated Sustainable Materials R&D centre as well as a pilot plant, both of which will be operational in 2022. The new division will start with 125 engineers and grow to more than 400 by 2030.