The Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp apprised of a new wave of technological advancements demonstrating how flax-linen and hemp fibers are now being successfully integrated into advanced composite manufacturing processes. These developments mark a transition beyond traditional hand lay-up techniques, positioning natural fibers as credible, scalable solutions for high-performance industrial applications.
Recent progress in thin-ply prepreg technology has enabled flax rovings, such as those developed by Depestele, to be transformed into ultra-lightweight, high-performance composite structures.
At the forefront of innovation, coreless filament winding is redefining the possibilities of natural fiber composites. This advanced robotic process enables resin-impregnated flax fibers to be precisely wound into complex three-dimensional geometries without the need for traditional molds, significantly reducing material waste while enabling structurally optimised designs. The FIBRAS project at Eindhoven University of Technology is exploiting these techniques and developing specialized handling methodologies for flax rovings to create lightweight, resource-efficient and more sustainable architectural structures for the construction industry.
The DynaMill project, led by ContiTech AVS France (a subsidiary of OESL-Automotive), Nautix and ComposiTIC (a technical centre attached to the University of Southern Brittany), co-funded by the Brittany region and supported by ID4Mobility and EMC2 clusters, has successfully developed and mechanically validated a lightweight automotive engine support connecting rod manufactured using injection molding and automated fiber placement with flax fiber reinforcements and bio-based PA11 matrix. The project highlights the growing potential for high-performance, bio-based composite structures that combine renewable materials, reduced weight and scalable manufacturing technologies for future automotive applications.
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