Flax fiber composite innovations, circularity services
JEC World 2024: Flax fiber producer Groupe Depestele and sustainable composites company Greenboats demonstrate flax fiber materials, demonstrators and product offer Circular Structures.

The Greenlander Sherpa expedition vehicle, made using flax fiber composites by Greenboats, will be exhibited at the JEC World 2024 Mobility Planet. Photo Credit: Greenboats
Flax fiber producer (Normandy, France; Stand 5C53) is presenting its advancements in natural fiber composites, featuring samples and demonstrator components manufactured by sustainable composites solutions composite (Breman, Germany). Greenboats announced that Groupe Depestele had acquired a minority share in the company in September 2023.
Over the past 15 years, Groupe Depelstele has developed twist-free flax roving, effectively blending sustainability with high performance. Groupe Depelstele has also partnered with Fibroline (Limonest, France), specialists in dry powder impregnation. This collaboration has produced dry impregnated natural fiber tapes, a fusion of Groupe Depelstele’s expertise in flax fiber and Fibroline’s technology. This innovation aims to provide high-performance materials with reduced environmental impact.
Greenboats uses these innovations to create versatile and robust composites, including skins, panels and complete structures. The company’s JEC World 2024 showcase, the expedition vehicle will be on display at the Mobility Planet. Made with natural fiber composite sandwich panels and profiles made with Depestele flax fiber, the Sherpa demonstrates natural fiber composites’ practical and environmental advantages.
Greenboats is also introducing its product offer Circular Structures, a platform by which a company can effectively lease natural fiber composite components, which are then returned to Greenboats at the products’ end of life (EOL) for deconstruction and reuse in a new application (see video below for more information).
Samples and components from Greenboats will also be on display at partner booths Karl Mayer GmbH (Obertshausen, Germany), which helped in the development of flax biaxial noncrimp fabrics, and Cobra International (Chonburi, Thailand).
Related Content
-
NASCAR unveils BEV prototype featuring natural fiber bodywork
Implementation of Bcomp technical flax fibers in a U.S. motorsport first represents NASCAR’s step toward more sustainable competition vehicles.
-
Notox surfboards harness flax fiber for wave surfing competition
Libeco flax, Airbus rCF fabrics, Sicomin GreenPoxy bioresins and an agave core form a heavy, robust surfboard custom-designed for Clément Roseyro in this year’s Nazaré Big Waves Surf event.
-
Biomaterials make strides toward composites sustainability
A compilation of trends in development or application of natural fibers, bio-based resins and more showcases industry players, educational institutes and global projects.