Bercella is one of the pioneering companies in developing natural fibers for motorsports, as shown by the seats of Formula E single-seaters made from flax fiber. Now, it has joined forces with Giulia ETCR by Romeo Ferraris to bring these composites to the car competing at Pure ETCR, the first 100% electric touring car category.
The sustainable Italian manufacturer was involved with the team’s project from the beginning, providing all the expertise at the design and construction stages of the initial carbon fiber bodywork. Now, all of the technical know-how, innovation and skill of Bercella will be available for the Giulia ETCR by Romeo Ferraris at the final round of the Championship, to be held from October 15 to 17.
The material used on the vehicle will be hemp fiber (plant), a sustainable material that is already environmentally friendly, the main mission and objective of Pure ETCR. In addition, the project is supported by other Italian companies: Fibertech Group as material supplier, closely cooperating with Linificio and Canapificio Nazionale.
All this has been a sign that the path of motorsports points towards sustainability, and the proof of this will be the composites based on natural fibers, exploring new technologies to be implemented on the racing vehicle driven by Rodrigo Baptista, Luca Filippi, Philipp Eng and Oliver Webb.
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One of the goals of motorsports is to replace the carbon fiber used for years in this sector. Its properties of resistance and high flexibility make it an ideal material for practicing these disciplines. However, hemp fiber combines all of these properties together with the sustainability of the product.
“We are proud to have played our part towards the transition to a greener future, which even the motorsport sector can no longer ignore, as a laboratory at the highest level for the trends that will later constitute the road mobility of tomorrow. Compounding constitutes our corporate expertise and seeing this shift towards increasingly sustainable materials and processing techniques, confirm us as pioneers of new initiatives that embody the present at hand, and the opportunity to develop the future in a profound way,” said Massimo Bercella, CEO of Bercella Srl.
About Bercella
Bercella is a dynamic and innovative Italian company driving since 25 years the design and engineering of cuttingedge solutions using Advanced Composites and Light Alloys. Bercella is specialized in large and complex structures, providing critical industries with tailored high-performance systems, through a 360° service: from early design to engineering development to Advanced Manufacturing, all being vertically integrated in-house, for final turnkey solutions enhancing process control, costs reduction and efficiency.
Written by | Ronald Ortega
