Bercella, Formula Seven target motorsport innovation with natural fiber composite developments

It was reported on May 10 that Bercella s.l.r. (Parma, Italy), a company the develops large and complex composite structures, and Formula Seven (Varano De' Melegari, Italy), have joined forces to develop an innovative seat for Formula SAE single-seaters (more on Formula SAE, “Racing to build tomorrow’s automotive composites workforce”), using only 100% natural fiber composite materials, such as flax fiber.

In addition to being an eco-friendly material, Bercella notes that flax fibers are UV-, impact- and corrosion-resistant (McLaren and Bcomp showcase this material for Formula 1). Moreover, the material absorbs vibrations and isolates from electricity and heat, all of which make it ideal for something like seating applications for Formula SAE race cars. Bercella adds that the seats will only weigh 1.45 kilograms (3.2 pounds).

Bercella will be using natural fiber-based prepregs supplied by Angeloni Group (Quarto d'Altino, Italy), with either an epoxy or polyester resin; the company points out that, along with synthetic resins, there is also a large effort to develop bio-resins for a 100% sustainable final product, particularly with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile’s (FIA) push for natural materials use in motorsport.

“Thanks to their excellent mechanical properties and low environmental impact, our IMP 503Z-HT - AmpliTex range of natural fiber-based prepregs, are extremely versatile,” says Angeloni Group (Quarto d'Altino, Italy), Bercella’s flax fiber supplier. “In addition, vibration damping, UV resistance and multiple design options make this a perfect solution for various applications from sports to automotive, aerospace and marine sectors.”

Formula Seven, said to be the largest worldwide provider of Formula SAE-specific products says, “Our goal is to support Formula SAE engineers by providing ready-made parts optimized for that competition, so that the teams can save time on designing and focus on assembling and testing. This is another step forward that allows the integration of two parts with both environmental and performance benefits.”

According to Bercella’s CEO, Massimo Bercella, the company has always supported both Formula SAE teams, and the pursuit for a more sustainable composites industry. “We show them [young, Formula SAE engineers] that greener materials can be reliable on an engineering level, hoping this will prompt their increased use in the future.”