This prototype
bicycle helmet is made entirely from forest products — particularly
the foam shock
absorbing material, which was developed at KTH. (Photo: Cellutech)
(January 18, 2016) Maybe
soon we can say goodbye to polystyrene, the petroleum-based material that is
used to make Styrofoam. In what looks like an ordinary bicycle helmet, Swedish
designers have replaced Styrofoam with a new shock-absorbing material made with
renewable and biodegradable wood-based material.
Researcher Lars Wågberg, a professor in Fibre Technology at
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, says the wood-based foam material offers
comparable properties to Styrofoam.
"But even better, it is from a totally renewable
resource — something that we can produce from the forest," Wågberg says.
That's a big plus for a country where forests are planted
and harvested continuously, much like any other cash crop.
Trademarked under the name, Cellufoam, the material was
developed by Wågberg together with Lennart Bergström, professor in Material
Chemistry at Stockholm University, and Nicholas Tchang Cervin, a former PhD
student at KTH, in the Wallenberg Wood Science Center (WWSC).
The helmet was produced by Cellutech, a Stockholm startup
that specializes in cutting edge materials made from wood, in conjunction with
the Swedish Forest Industries Federation´s Ekoportal2035.