Magna International and Italian intellectual property company, bi-on, have signed a cooperation agreement to start R&D activities on the use of bio plastics for the automotive industry.
Bio-on has developed a new kind of bio plastic created through the use of naturally occurring bacteria which feed off sugar beet by-products. In the process of fermentation, the material is turned into plastic (polyhydroxyalkanoate or PHA).
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The result is fully biodegradable in water and soil, an environmentally friendly product that does not rely on food as a natural resource and could provide alternatives to conventional plastics for the automotive industry.
Magna, through its Interiors operating unit, is pairing with bio-on’s chemical expertise to research how production of this natural polyester product can be elevated to an industrial, cost-effective scale.
Additionally, the two companies will test and evaluate how bio-on bio plastics will perform in different standard industry processes such as thermoforming.
Magna Interiors will use its facility in Liberec, Czech Republic, for joint testing.
