materialscout

Spotted: The latest #materialinnovations seen in the #footwear industry recently… OXMAN have launched the O° Shoes made with a truly revolutionary design process. The studio combines #computationalgrowth, #roboticmanufacturing and biologically ‘programmed decay’ to enable synergy between their products and nature. The shoe is made from 100% #PHA derived from bacteria. We enjoyed their wall of shoe prototypes and numerous design iterations. Lore Cycle and The Lubrizol Corporation Avid 3D Printing have collaborated on footwear for #cycling with extreme customisation, durability and comfort.  Each pair is precisely #3Dprinted from carbon and TPU, and based on the customers' unique biomechanics. Zellerfeld Shoe Company Inc. have been 3d printing lightweight #TPU shoes for a couple of years now - but what makes this new collaboration with Nike interesting is the inclusion of the #Airmax bubble to reimagine the iconic Nike trainer. 

On this day of frivolous and fast-paced consumerism happening all around us, we thought it would be nice to share a thoughtful escape; the 2nd edition of #FutureObservatory's online journal. This series of essays offer an excuse to perhaps slow down and learn about design and ecology for our liveable future; from cities of the sea to reclaiming indigenous knowledge. Read on for More-than-human thinking with amazing visuals and thought-provoking topics 🌎 🧠 https://lnkd.in/eApR53rY the Design Museum Cave_bureau

LG Electronics latest free-form display screen has gained a lot of attention this week. The innovative screen acts like a #fabric; it can be folded, twisted, reshaped and even stretches up to 50%. We see the potential for this technology on many scales from #architecture to #softrobotics and #wearabletech.  But how does it actually work?  It is vaguely described as being made from a special type of elastic, optically clear, silicone as the substrate. With micro-LEDs and a new wiring design structure. This careful composition allows it to be repeatedly stretched over x10,000 times and is resistant to shock and high temperatures. As LG have not revealed exactly how it is made, we took a deeper look at other research going on in the field of #flexibledisplays. We found many novel approaches. Some include #auxetic #metamaterial structures, the use of #lightemittingpolymers. Micro-LEDS placed within 3D / double-layered structures, designed to reveal hidden pixels that appear and disappear at different stretch values, which maintain image quality. Amongst many other techniques and materials. This got us thinking about other exciting material developments that could allow for future stretchable colour and display functionalities > A #3Dprinted material from the Kunming University of Science and Technology can glow green under pressure or friction through a process called #mechanoluminescence. Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a stretchable colour-changing material which utilises #structuralcolour; different light wavelengths are reflected as the material is strained. Video credits: LG Display Global, CNN, New Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), KUST.

This week at the Greener Manufacturing Conference & Expo, we were reminded of a powerful truth: while the geo-political climate grows ever more chaotic, nature isn’t waiting for us to sort ourselves out. The time to act was yesterday. We had the chance to meet incredible pioneers and #materials entrepreneurs who are simply getting things done. Their solutions gave us hope, even as policy makers and big corporations wrestle with moving forward at the speed needed. Yes, the numbers we heard (again) from speakers were daunting. For example, Helmut Maurer prof dr jur, a seasoned environmental expert, voiced his concerns about the plastic treaty. With global annual production exceeding 400MT and growing at 4% per year, his takeaway was clear: we must reduce #plasticproduction, not just #plasticwaste. And then there’s the SUP (#singleuseplastics) bans, which in many cases have swapped plastics for materials potentially even more harmful to the environment. Isn’t it time we take a hard look at our comfort zones and rethink how we consume? Another key focus: #EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility). So far, it’s mostly about producers managing their waste. What if we shifted the narrative? It’s not just about waste treatment-it’s about not creating waste in the first place. One inspiring panel brought together competitors-turned-collaborators from the chemical industry, with the Global Impact Coalition hosting BASF, Covestro, and LyondellBasell. Their #circulareconomy project is tackling plastic use in the automotive industry. With about 200kg of plastic per car, they’re exploring end-of-life car collection, dismantling, and recycling. As they say, selling cars exclusively in Europe could facilitate this model. We wonder how the OEMs will take to such an idea! 💡 Cool Materials-here are just a few of the innovations we came across: Lignin. This natural polymer found in plant cell walls is one of the most abundant biopolymers on Earth. Companies like Lignin Industries AB are using it to reduce reliance on petroleum-based plastics. HemCell® biopolymers, combining hemp fibers with bio-plastics, they create versatile compounds for disposable and durable applications. BIOPLASMAR developed a fully compostable, plastic-free material packed with nutrients for soil—perfect for products like flower pots that disappear after being planted. Blue Ocean Closures tackle the environmental challenge of caps by offering a 100% fiber-based, ocean-degradable screw cap. It’s bio-based, recyclable, asolution for your future #packagingdesign? Fortum is a Finnish waste-management company that launched INGA, a CO2-captured plastic. After recycling as much as possible, they capture emissions from incineration and turn them into new materials. Twins Crew GmbH (love the name!) use biogenic byproducts to create natural pigments and additives for bio-based plastics. Nature has the solutions-why not use them? We’re feeling optimistic for the weekend. Let’s keep the momentum going!

This week, we have been looking at the latest innovations in #glass - from reimagining how we can process glass to new forms of silica glass entirely… 🧱 MIT have #3Dprinted sturdy glass bricks for building structures. The interlocking system is comparable in strength to its concrete counterparts. Made using Evenline’s glass printer, which pairs a furnace with crushed recycled glass feedstock to extrude a molten glass printable filament. 🔥 Stanford University have discovered a sprayable gel made from Silica #aerogel. During a fire, it puffs up acting like a solid air bubble to create a shield which can protect buildings from wildfires. 🧊 North Carolina State University have created a new class of material called Glassy Gels. This polymer-based material combines the properties of glass but is flexible, sticky, shape memory and can stretch up to x5! 🎋 A proposal to replace glass entirely comes from Central South University of Forestry and Technology who have created transparent #bamboo, this offers a renewable version to some other #transparentwoods innovations we have seen before. Video and image credits (various):  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), YouTube, 2024 , University of Stanford. 2024, CBS News, 2024. Nature, 2024. Youtube: DickeyGroupNCSU, 2024. #materialinnovation #glassinnovations

At Fakuma Messe, we had the chance to explore some exciting innovations in engineering polymers, especially around #recycled, mass-balanced, and #biobased materials. Arkema really caught our attention with their latest developments in PA11 (polyamide made from castor oil) through some interesting partnerships. With NaturePlast, they’ve created grades using crustacean waste, and with Authentic Material, they’re using #leather waste. One cool example they had on display was an electric kettle made with PA11 and filled with oyster shells, which gave it a unique, stone-like feel. They also shared a fascinating project with the Fraunhofer Institute, where they replaced fossil-based plastics with bio-based ones to create the back-shell of a children’s safety seat. Another highlight was a super-light bio-plastic computer mouse for ASUS, weighing just 54 grams! DOMO Chemicals introduced their TECHNYL® 4EARTH® range, including PA6 and PA66 that give traditional polyamides a fair fight. They’re using all kinds of waste streams, like fishing nets and old airbags, and even producing these materials using clean, #hydrogen energy. Speaking of hydrogen energy, KOLON ENP from Korea presented their Eco-POM (polyoxymethylene, or acetal copolymer) range. They’ve got bio-POM made by mass-balance methods, along with mechanically recycled grades. One of the most impressive innovations we found came from Celanese with their Hostaform Eco-C. It looks exactly like virgin plastic but is made by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere! Celanese has started a carbon capture and utilization (CCU) project at their Clear Lake, Texas site in partnership with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. They’re capturing not only their own production emissions but also those from neighboring factories. While it’s not yet available at full scale, they expect to produce 130,000 metric tons of this material annually, capturing 180,000 metric tons of CO2 from industrial emissions. We also met a newer player, Biolive from Turkey, who’s turning olive pits—usually discarded—into valuable #bioplastics. What began as a university project has grown into a full-scale production, offering additives and compounds for companies looking to make their products more eco-friendly. Lastly, KRAHN Ceramics GmbH wowed us with their ceramics injection molding technology. They mix ceramic powders (like alumina or zirconia) with a plastic carrier, inject the compound using standard machinery, and then sinter the parts. The parts shrink about 25%, but the precision and ability to create complex geometries make it a fantastic solution for intricate designs. Overall, #Fakuma2024 gave us a lot of optimism for the future of sustainable plastics. There’s so much potential to make the industry greener and more innovative!

Last week, we headed to Fakuma Messe, Europe’s 2nd largest plastic trade fair. One thing really stood out: #sustainability wasn’t front and center like it used to be. Just a couple of years ago, it was THE topic, but this year the spotlight had shifted to AI, digitalisation, production efficiency, and cost-saving measures. The plastic industry has had a tough year. Some familiar exhibitors were missing, others had smaller booths, and we kept hearing about lower revenues, reduced demand for sustainable solutions, and less investment in innovation. But hey, we’re glass-half-full people and choose to attribute it to less “greenwashing”, and despite the challenges, there were some really cool #materialinnovations we’re excited to share. ARBURG, Inc. impressed with a machine that injects paper pearls. These pearls are made of 51% paper fibers from recycled cardboard, encapsulated in 49% bio-plastic, which they developed with the packaging company Model Group. Aimed at the furniture and packaging industries, these are compostable at their end-of-life! Kurz and Frimo have come up with new polypropylene (PP) composites for car interiors, combining 50% natural fibers with options for in-mould labelling (#IML). The result? Aesthetic and more sustainable surfaces for car interiors, etc. WIK caught our attention with their PETRABS® white compound, composing 50% of the Dolce Gusto NEO machine. This material is made from rPET from ocean-recovered bottles and PCR/PIR ABS, achieving 85% recycled content overall. That’s a huge win for #kitchenappliances when food-contact is not an issue. For anyone looking to create their own custom compounds, Beologic has you covered. They offer a variety of options, from fossil-based and #biobased to durable or #biodegradable resins. You can mix these with natural or recycled fillers depending on what you need. Plus, they’ve come up with a super cool take-away food system inspired by the Indian tiffin, with a spill-proof lid that doesn’t require a 2K seal! Struggling with old tires that can’t be recycled? Neste, Borealis, and Covestro have teamed up to develop pyrolysis oils that can be turned into phenol and acetone, which are then used to make new PC for cars. Talk about turning trash into treasure! Biolive make plastics from olive pits that would otherwise be burnt for energy or buried. Located in Istanbul, they do not suffer from material shortage and with temperature and pressure, turn it to #bioplastics. These are later mixed with PP, ABS and even PE. Even vinyl records are getting an eco-friendly twist. Greenyl Records is using rPET from ALBIS Distribution instead of traditional vinyl to make records. And yes, even the black records are totally green, produced with green energy. It makes you wonder how your favourite tunes would sound on records made from other recycled materials, doesn’t it? There’s more to come, so stay tuned for our next update where we’ll share even more cool things from #Fakuma2024!

Fascinated by #3Dprinting and #materialinnovations? We recently attended EOS Experience Days, a great opportunity to better understand their technology, the materials used, and answer a very popular question: “Is 3D printing really viable for mass production”? Two case-studies that were especially impressive, were presented during the second day that was devoted to plastics. 🕶 The first one featured eyewear, made by YOU MAWO.  They use PA12 (Polyamide/Nylon) powder to print the frames, locally in Germany. They also offer “made to order” frames based on a facial 3D scan. Having the production done locally and by this saving transportation, avoiding material waste during production, saving storage room thanks to on-demand orders; all these factors had to be backed with an #LCA, to prove the attractiveness of 3D printing, as the more #sustainable solution. The results were eye-opening (literally), as it was found that compared to traditional methods of eyewear production, using 3D printing reduces the carbon footprint by 44-58%! 💄 The second product on show was CHANEL’s “Le Volume Révolution” Mascara. If you’ve ever used mascara, you certainly noticed the importance of the brush, or mascara wand. However, how many of you paused to wonder, how this tiny item is produced? Well, in most cases it is injection moulded. And one consequence to consider once injecting such small items with super fine “hair”, is that your tool will need constant care, cleaning, polishing, etc. It is a huge effort, for such a tiny object. Here’s were, again, 3D printing proved to be much more efficient than injection moulding, and after many iterations of the design of the tips, their length, the material, etc…the new wand was born.  So, even for a small product with very little marginal profit it was worth switching technologies. Check out the photos & slides below for more information!

Some of the #materialinnovations we saw emerge during S/S25 Fashion Month Coperni Paris used the RLP, Rapid Liquid Print process to reimagine their Swipe Bag. A visually mesmerising process where liquid silicone is 3D deposited into a water-based gel suspension. This printing technology was originally created by MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab. We have seen this used before in a previous project with BMW Group who made Liquid Printed Pneumatics for car interiors and furniture for Steelcase. Burberry has incorporated Spiber Inc.’s Brewed Protein™ fibres into their B shield scarf. The bio-fabricated brewed protein which is made through fermentation has been blended with wool and cashmere. For Ganni A/S’s collection, they claimed to have explored over 30 alchemic processes and #fabricsofthefuture. Using a number of material innovations in their garments to replace traditional materials like polyester, cotton, and leather. These include Polybion Celium a lab-grown, leather-like biotextile made from bacterial cellulose. Recyc Leather's Pelinova is made from recycled leather fibres, and of course, Simplifyber™ Fybron™ is a cellulosic bio-fibre which can be 3D moulded for soft goods like bags and shoe uppers. Video Credits: ©Coperni & Rapid Liquid Print Co. https://shorturl.at/Mxvcj #sustainableluxury #regenerativefashion #fashioninnovation #fashionweek

Sustainable packaging, circular packaging, do they even exist? Last week was the FACHPACK and we spent a few hours there to scout for innovative materials and #packaging solutions. Our first stop was at the special design show “Outside the Box” by bayern design GmbH. On show this year were various packaging solutions, presented from the concept stage all the way to the store shelves. Amongst the more interesting, we found refillable containers for the Norwegian company Orkla. Their circular service called PA°(FYLL) was designed by Form Us With Love and is now being beta tested by 100 households. Love Pizza but hate all the waste it creates? 435 million pizza boxes are discarded in Germany every year!!! To address this challenge, tornerò GmbH from Regensburg and designer Gerhard Reichert developed a Pizza container that can be used up to 500 times. Experimenting with different structures allowed the best condensation of vapour, in the 100% PP with laser labelling (no printing). NKM is a natural cosmetics brand that sources all its raw ingredients locally, as well as their glass containers and their design. The reusable bottles were optimally designed, by Dominique Beolet, to allow perfect extraction of the content as well as cleaning. For their recent coffee machine, Nunc commissioned brand.pack and Uwe Melichar to design its packaging. Get this-no foam! Oliver Williams designed a set of textile, collapsable containers for refilling dry goods in stores and supermarkets. In the other halls, where commercial solutions are offered, we found a recurring (very positive) trend of #reusable shipping boxes and containers. Hey Circle that created a unique reusable packaging from funky materials. sendmepack and reuse.me still offer cardboard boxes, but as part of a recall system that allows them to reuse the boxes many times and only when they are beyond repair, recycle them. Want to protect your goods at all costs but reluctant to use foam? How about trying #mycelium? Myco offers small pouches with mycelium “pads” that were drop-tested successfully. Paul Lindner GmbH offers either a wooden foam or an insert made of recycled paper pulp that can adapt to any fragile product. Or you can try PAPACKS, replacing the notorious thermoformed plastic blisters with blisters that “hug” your goods made of cellulose, hemp or Paludiculture fibres. We are still facing a HUGE amount of packaging waste that pollutes our environment. One initiative that caught out attention is WILDPLASTIC® that collects discarded plastics and turns them into foils and bags that can be reused. They are now experimenting with injection mouldable grades as well - we can’t wait! In case your packaging leaks to the environment and Wildplastics is not there to retrieve it, you can use the completely dissolving in water and fully biodegrading into natural and eco-friendly components from Solutum Technologies Ltd. But, remember, #biodegradability is NO EXCUSE to litter.