Kautex’s new materials line was introduced for the first time at the Battery Show in Stuttgart, Germany. Source | Kautex

Kautex Textron GmbH & Co. KG (Kautex, Bonn, Germany), a Textron Inc. company and Tier 1 automotive supplier, has launched its Green+ products made with 20% biomass materials and/or 25% recycled materials. This has been demonstrated in the form of Pentatonic Green+, a composite electric vehicle (EV) battery enclosure made up of fishing nets discarded in the ocean. The material makeup is reinforced with glass fiber and produced via injection molding.

Biocomposite battery enclosure. 

The product is the first of its kind at Kautex and is part of the company’s Scope 4 carbon emission reduction within its Sustainability Roadmap, which focuses on reducing carbon emissions in the supply chain by working with strategic suppliers, sourcing low-carbon material and focusing on a circular economy. Kautex says its procurement team is regularly seeking out existing and new suppliers to be able to source sustainable materials, whether those be recycled via mechanical, physical or chemical technologies.

“Green+ is another big step we’re taking to reduce our carbon footprint and help our customers to achieve the highest performance with the most sustainable options,” says Sophie Louis, director of energy and sustainability.

Kautex was recently awarded a Platinum rating from EcoVadis (Paris, France), an organization which assesses companies based on their performance in four key categories: environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. A total of 130,000 companies were assessed by EcoVadis; achieving this Platinum rating places Kautex among the top 1% of large companies evaluated.

In addition, the company has earned an A-rating from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in 2023, has joined the United Nations Global Compact in 2023 and has submitted its information to the Science based Targets Initiative (SBTi), which encourages companies to take action to reduce the global temperature.