SLG makes bio-based foam available to automotive customers
Scottish Leather Group is to make its BioPRO protein-based foam product available to automotive customers.
Specialist aviation leather manufacturer Muirhead launched BioPRO last year, describing it as a naturally fire-resistant, protein-based aviation biofoam, made from hydrolysed collagen, a by-product of leather production.
This development earned Scottish Leather Group a nomination in one of the categories at the 2025 Earthshot Prize, a sustainable innovation competition that will run every year of this decade, awarding funding of £1 million to winners in each of five categories.
Now the group’s specialist automotive leather division, Bridge of Weir, will offer BioPRO as a moulded seat foam to its customers in the car industry, which include Aston Martin, McLaren, JLR and Polestar. It said the product will provide a lower-impact alternative to tradition seat foam.
Protein content in the foam makes up 20% of its composition, with all of the protein coming from the group’s leather manufacturing processes. Scottish Leather Group has said BioPRO can replace melamine, bromine, titanium phosphate, graphite and PFAS in the foam materials that automotive companies frequently use at the moment.
It said that choosing BioPRO instead will help automotive manufacturers reduce fossil-derived content, improve circularity and lower environmental impact. It added that BioPRO is a recoverable, “truly circular” and sustainable material. At the end of a car-seat’s life, the material can be recovered through an acidolysis process and reused.
In addition, the foam can moulded to an exact specification each time, eliminating, the group says, the material waste associated with conventional cut foams, which often require multiple parts. This can also help reduce weight.
Group chief commercial officer, James Muirhead, commented: “For decades, we have been proud to support our automotive partners as they work to reduce the environmental impact of their interiors. BioPRO is the next step in that journey. With BioPRO being fully recoverable at end of life, it enables new pathways for seat components without compromising durability.”
