UPM and Metropolia proudly present: The Biofore Concept Car drives sustainable change through innovative use of biomaterials

(UPM, Helsinki, 4 March 2014 at 09:30 EET) – The Biofore Concept Car showcases the use of UPM’s innovative biomaterials in the automotive industry. The majority of parts traditionally made from plastics are replaced with high quality, safe and durable biomaterials, UPM Formi and UPM Grada, which can significantly improve the overall environmental performance of car manufacturing. The Biofore Concept Car is designed and manufactured by students from the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

Parts made of UPM Grada thermoformable wood material are the passenger compartment floor, centre console, display panel cover and door panels. Grada technology revitalises the forming of wood with heat and pressure, and opens up new opportunities for designs not achievable with traditional methods. UPM Grada’s unique forming properties enable high quality ecological designs which are also visually appealing.

Parts made of UPM Formi biocomposite include front mask, side skirts, dashboard, door panels and interior panels. UPM Formi is a durable, high quality biocomposite for injection moulding, extrusion and thermoforming production. Consisting of renewable fibres and plastic, the material is non-toxic, odourless and uniform in quality. UPM Formi is ideal both for industrial and consumer applications. UPM’s responsible supply chain combined with use of renewable raw materials ensure a small carbon footprint.

The vehicle runs on UPM’s wood-based renewable dieselUPM BioVerno, which will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels. UPM BioVerno is suitable for all diesel engines, including the 1.2 litre low-emission diesel engine featured in the Biofore Concept Car. Moreover, thanks to UPM’s biomaterials, the car is approximately 150 kilogrammes lighter than its equivalents, resulting in lower fuel consumption.

UPM Raflatac’s self-adhesive label materials are used to mark spare parts as well as in the interior and exterior design of the car. All labels used in the Biofore Concept Car have been manufactured using the latest adhesive technology and solvent-free production processes.

“Sustainability is a major subject globally. We were excited to be able to design and build a vehicle that would demonstrate that already today we have biomaterials that are a real alternative to traditional oil-based materials. During the past four years of building the Biofore Concept Car, our students have come to see that these biomaterials are of high quality, durable and also offer new design opportunities,” says Pekka Hautala, Project Director from Metropolia.

“The Biofore Concept Car showcases the potential of UPM’s biomaterials. Not only for the automotive industry, but also for various other end-uses including design, acoustics – a wide range of industrial and consumer applications. The possibilities are endless,” says Elisa Nilsson, Vice President of Brand and Communications at UPM.

“According to our Biofore strategy, we create value from renewable raw material – wood from responsibly managed forests – and strive for a more resource efficient future. The Biofore Concept Car is a fine manifestation of this. We are proud of the cooperation with Metropolia’s automotive engineering and industrial design students, and what we have achieved together,” Nilsson concludes.

The Biofore Concept Car will premiere at the Geneva International Motor Show on 4 March 2014 at 15:15-15:30 CET. You are warmly welcome to visit us during the event at stand 6438.

For more information please contact:
Elisa Nilsson
Vice President, Brand and Communications, UPM,
tel. +358 204 16 7806

Pekka Hautala,
Project Director, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences,
tel. +358 50 048 3786

About UPM
Through the renewing of the bio and forest industries, UPM is building a sustainable future across six business areas: UPM Biorefining, UPM Energy, UPM Raflatac, UPM Paper Asia, UPM Paper Europe and North America and UPM Plywood. Our products are made of renewable raw materials and are recyclable. We serve our customers worldwide. The group employs around 21,000 people and its annual sales are approximately € 10 billion. UPM shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.

UPM Formi
UPM Formi is new cellulose fibre reinforced plastic composite with high renewable material content. It is designed for injection moulding, extrusion and thermoforming applications. Up to 50% of UPM Formi’s raw material is renewable. UPM Formi is manufactured by UPM Biocomposites, which develops, manufactures, markets and sells high quality composites UPM Formi and UPM ProFi. UPM Formi granulates are sold to wide range of industrial and consumer applications. UPM ProFi products are for outdoor end uses in construction. UPM Biocomposites factories are located in Finland and Germany and it is part of UPM’s new businesses.

About UPM Grada
UPM Grada is a new thermoformable wood material for the form pressing industry. It is manufactured by UPM Plywood whose main offering is high quality WISA® plywood and veneer products mainly for the construction and transport industries. The sales of UPM Plywood in 2013 were EUR 429 million and it has about 2,300 employees. UPM Plywood has six plywood mills and a veneer mill in Finland, and plywood mills in Russia and Estonia. www.wisaplywood.com

UPM Biofuels
UPM plans to become a significant player in the field of high quality, advanced traffic biofuels. Biofuels are an essential part of the Biofore strategy, which combines the bio and forest industries. The innovative, wood-based biofuels produced by UPM and the production technologies used are an integral part of a sustainable future. UPM biofuels are forerunners in quality, usability and sustainability – they considerably reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by traffic when compared with fossil fuels.

UPM Raflatac
UPM Raflatac is one of the world’s leading producers of self-adhesive label materials. We supply high-quality paper and film labelstock for consumer product and industrial labelling through a global network of factories, distribution terminals and sales offices. We employ around 2,900 people and made sales of EUR 1.2 billion (USD 1.6 billion) in 2013. UPM Raflatac is part of UPM – The Biofore Company.

About Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Science is Finland’s largest university of applied sciences, which educates the professionals of tomorrow in the fields of culture, business, health care and social services, and technology. From altogether 65 degree programmes 14 are in English. Metropolia operates in the Greater Helsinki region (Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa) and has around 16,800 students and 1100 staff members. Metropolia is a reliable partner and an innovator in higher education.

Source

UPM, press release, 2014-03-04.

Supplier

Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
UPM Biofuels
UPM Corporation

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