Indorama Ventures and Faurecia Sign R&D Partnership Agreement

Faurecia and Indorama Ventures Launch Sustainable Car Seat Foam Solution Indorama Ventures, one of the world leaders in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) production and recycling, and Faurecia's seating research and development teams have recently signed a dedicated development partnership. This collaboration between Indorama Ventures and Faurecia, a FORVIA Group company ranked seventh among automotive suppliers, aims to create Auraloop, a new series of cushioning solutions that will replace polyurethane foam currently used in cars for mobility markets. Nicolas Michot, Faurecia Seating Technology Director, stated that Auraloop will replace materials currently used in automotive seats with state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly alternatives based on 100% recyclable polyester fibres. Compared to existing materials, this new material will provide a two-fold reduction in the carbon footprint of vehicle seat pad options. Production of this product aligns with FORVIA Group's plan to become carbon neutral by 2045 and paves the way for a broader commercial version within two or three years. To do this, the group is working to fully integrate the circular economy into all aspects of its commercial offering. For this purpose, MATERI'ACT was created to develop and produce state-of-the-art sustainable materials.

Arnaud Closson, CEO of Indorama Ventures' Mobility Group/Fibre Segment, outlining the first milestones in close collaboration with Faurecia, emphasised that this partnership aims to further expand Indorama Ventures' existing Polyester (PET)-based portfolio and related activities, creating new growth expectations for both partners.

Auraloop also offers various new perspectives on seating comfort, with higher breathability and air permeability compared to existing seat pad solutions, allowing users better passive heat regulation. Reduced degradation throughout the chair's service life also extends the lifespan of seats. This dynamic led to the creation of Auraloop, a device offering much better performance in terms of static, dynamic and reception comfort. This highly promising new solution has generated significant interest among Faurecia customers today, demonstrating their desire to integrate materials combining comfort with circular economy principles into future vehicles. In the mobility sector, Indorama Ventures is already a market leader in yarns and fabrics for tyres and airbags. With the new Auraloop project, the offering it provides expands not only to serve the new dynamic car seat market with improved performance and comfort components, but also takes sustainability principles into account.