Cars made from fishing nets?!
In addition to its existing plans for electromobility, BMW wants to optimise the environmental balance of its car production already in the construction phase. The first step: converting old fishing nets into environmentally friendly fabrics for upholstering car interiors.
With a planned share of e-cars of only 50% by 2030, BMW - in contrast to other car companies - is rather cautious when it comes to electric mobility. Although the Munich-based carmaker is set to enter the car market with its own series of electric models, this is not the BMW Group's only strategy to reduce its carbon footprint.
It is not only the drive technology that is to be adapted to current and future sustainability requirements. BMW engineers also want to keep topics such as recycling and environmental compatibility in mind for the remaining components. To this end, the Bavarian company is cooperating with the Danish company PLASTIX and plans to use recycled fishing nets for the partial production of textiles for the interior and exterior trim of BMW cars.
This trim material - which consists of processed plastic granulate - should have a double positive effect, BMW says, on the environment. On the one hand, the two project partners will collect fishing nets no longer needed for textile production in ports - thereby protecting the maritime ecosystem from nets discarded at sea. On the other hand, they will be able to work more environmentally consciously in the production of car components.
However, the innovative process is not yet perfect. This is because the proportion of recycled granulate is currently limited to a maximum of thirty per cent. This nevertheless brings about a considerable improvement, because the so-called injection moulding process, which enables the production of more numerous parts, already reduces the CO2 footprint by about a quarter. A 25% CO2 saving, which in the end is not a bad result, brings BMW a little closer to its own goal - namely to increase the proportion of thermoplastics used to forty percent by 2030.
However, this does not mean that the car company should completely lose its focus on e-vehicles. Because whether the car brand likes it or not, future sales and driving bans for internal combustion vehicles - for example, from 2035 in Europe or in California - face all car manufacturers. Shouldn't BMW then invest more in alternative drive technologies to keep up with the times?! Nevertheless, it is forward-looking of BMW to keep in mind not only the change of fuel type - away from the combustion engine, towards electric - when switching to environmentally friendly vehicles, but that the entire vehicle with all its materials should be climate-positive.