A high-strength biocomposite has been developed by biopolymer specialist Biomer (Krailling / Germany; www.biomer.de) and the Spanish centre for innovation and technology AIMPLAS (Valencia; www.aimplas.es).

Within the EU project Ecoplast (Oberhausen / Germany; www.ecoplastproject.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 30.05.2012 – the partners have developed a continuous production process for high-strength 100% renewable thermoplastic composites. Biomer said that until now there has been no sustainable or wholly natural biocomposite for performance applications with high mechanical demand.

Biomer said the material has “unexpected properties” that enable it to be used for high-performance and highly demanding applications, for example automotive. It can be used for structures in transport that need to withstand large temperature changes from minus 40°C to plus 60°C, or for stiff, shock absorbing arrangements.