While much of the attention devoted to making vehicles produce less carbon emissions have revolved arond eveloping less polluting powertrain using electricity, German carmaker BMW is looking at other aspects of car design to achieve sustainability. One of them is the car seat.

During the Climate Week event in New York City earlier this week, the company sponsored an exhibit demonstrating the potential future of automotive car seats. BMW’s Designworks group, in collaboration with several other BMW teams, is researching the use of plant-based materials as well as increasing the amount of secondary raw materials and the use of recycling.

Graphic showing BMW's concept for a sustainable car seat. (Spencer Chin)

The demonstration car seat, named the BMW M Visionary Materials seat, incorporates an exterior and frame are crafted from sustainable materials designed to be lightweight and easily recyclable. The frame is made of carbonized algae filament. Other seat materials include bio-based leathers made from chitosan (seafood waste), renewable bacterial nanocellulose,  chemical-free foam alternatives made from monomaterial additive manufactured silicone, and a natural fiber composite that reduces weight and carbon dioxide emissions.  

A spokesperson for Designworks explained to Design News that the process of designing a sustainable car seat is quite involved, balancing not only environmental considerations but also user comfort and ergonomics, safety, weight, and costs. And, while technologies like modeling and computer-aided simulation do play a part, the design process also heavily involves human interaction. as it is difficult to simulate whether a human will ultimately be comfortable in a car seat whose design is a radical departure from the norm.

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No specific timetable has been established as to when the environmentally-sustainable car seats will emerge in BMW production vehicles.

BMW Group Designworks was responsible for the design, color, and material concept of the seat in collaboration with the BMW design team. The project was realized in close cooperation with several partners: Automotive Management Consulting GmbH, Gradel Lightweight Sarl, and Lasso Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH.