The purpose of this project is to showcase the possibility of replacing reinforcement materials such as glass and carbon fiber with the more sustainable reinforcement material, jute fiber, with maintained or better functional properties. Weight reduction is an important functional goal and with the current JuteTech™ weighing approx. 1.46 g/cm2 compared to the corresponding fiberglass fabric weighing approx. 2.55 g/cm2, make this weight reduction concept possible.

The idea is to develop lightweight bio-based sandwich composites for use in the battery box of electric cars. Our recent studies have shown that environmentally friendly treated jute fibers can offer high mechanical properties and provide a better interfacial adhesion to the hydrophobic polymer. Instead of chemical modifications on the fiber surface, and facing their adverse environmental impact, plasma treatment can be applied which leads to enhanced mechanical performance of resulting composites. This, therefore, is expected to improve the mechanical performance of the bio-based sandwich composites and make them more competitive in the automotive industry for semi-structural components such as the battery box.

Besides the new type of surface treatment, bio-based thermoset resin in the structure will be used which make the composite panel unique with a very high percentage of bio-content. Hence, it brings the advantages of lightweight as well as its sustainability to the material system.