Volkswagen explores leather made from industrial hemp with Revoltech

Volkswagen has entered into a cooperation with the German start-up company Revoltech GmbH from Darmstadt. The aim is the research and development of sustainable materials based on industrial hemp. These could be used as sustainable surface materials in Volkswagen models starting in 2028. The material, made from 100% biobased hemp, utilizes waste products from the regional hemp industry. It can be produced on existing industrial facilities and recycled or composted at the end of its use in automobiles. Initial presentations to customers have already shown very positive resonance and acceptance of the new material.

“In the search for new materials, we are very open to new ideas from various industrial sectors. In Technical Development, we increasingly rely on innovative, creative, and sustainable solutions to develop our vehicles in a holistic resource-conserving manner," explains Kai Grünitz, Board Member for Technical Development at the Volkswagen brand.

For Andreas Walingen, Head of Strategy for the Volkswagen brand, "the sustainable management of resources is an important pillar of the company strategy Accelerate. The aim is to align customer demands, sustainability requirements, and corporate interests. The collaboration between Revoltech and Volkswagen is a good example of how start-ups and established companies can benefit from each other through targeted collaboration of their respective strengths – with the goal of preparing innovations for deployment in cars as quickly as possible."

“Our innovative surface material LOVR™, which we are developing and testing in cooperation with Volkswagen for the automotive industry, is scalable and groundbreaking for sustainability in the automotive industry," promotes Lucas Fuhrmann, CEO and Co-Founder of Revoltech GmbH.