CIDETEC Surface Engineering develops epoxy to build lighter and more sustainable trains

The SURPASS project is working on polymeric materials that will replace metal parts used in the railway sector, reducing CO2 emissions.

SURPASS has been advancing for a year and a half in its objective of leading the transition towards a safer, sustainable and recyclable design (SSRbD) of polymeric materials, which eliminates the harmful consequences that the use of plastics can have for both people and the environment.

CIDETEC Surface Engineering is leading one of the cases aimed at the railway sector, where through the 3R technology (repairable, recyclable and reprocessable) it has formulated a recyclable and sustainable epoxy composite that will serve to replace heavy metal parts used in the construction of trains, making them lighter and, consequently, reducing CO2 emissions. Currently, a group of researchers from CIDETEC Surface Engineering, together with experts from ICT Fraunhofer and BASF, is working to make this material also fire-resistant and compliant with railway regulations.

The European project, coordinated by CEA and with a budget of almost 5 million euros, is developing two other use cases in parallel for the construction and packaging sectors. Both, together with the transport sector, generate 70% of the European demand for plastic, so it is essential to address them in order to introduce sustainability from their design and create a change of trend in the industry.