Radici Group launches Bionside bio-based nylons at Fakuma

At Fakuma 2024 — one of the world’s leading trade shows for plastics processing — Radici Group made waves with the launch of Bionside, a new family of bio-based nylon resins engineered to meet the growing demand for sustainable high-performance materials in demanding automotive and industrial applications.

Bionside: Bio-Based Engineering Plastics

Bionside represents a significant expansion of Radici Group’s sustainable materials portfolio. The new bio-based nylon (polyamide) resins are designed to deliver the mechanical strength, thermal resistance, and chemical durability that engineering plastics applications require while incorporating a substantial share of renewable, bio-based feedstocks.

The bio-based content in Bionside products is derived from renewable sources, reducing the carbon footprint of the material without compromising theperformance characteristics that make nylon the material of choice for demanding engineering applications.

Radici Group: A Global Plastics Leader

Radici Group, headquartered in Gandino, Italy, is a diversified industrial group with operations across chemicals, plastics, and synthetic fibers. The company’s Plastics division is one of Europe’s leading producers of engineering plastics — including nylon 6 and nylon 66 (polyamide 6 and polyamide 66), PBT, and other high-performance polymers.

With production facilities across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, Radici Group supplies engineering plastics to customers in the automotive, electrical/electronmics, consumer goods, and industrial sectors worldwide. The company’s deep expertise in polymer science and compounding provides the foundation for its Bionside bio-based nylon platform.

Markets and Applications

Bionside bio-based nylons target several high-value application areas:

Automotive

The automotive industry is one of the largest consumers of engineering plastics, and sustainability requirements are intensifying as manufacturers work to reduce vehicle lifecycle emissions:

• Engine compartment components — Bio-based nylon parts for air intake systems, engine covers, and cooling system components
• Structural parts — Reinforced bio-based nylon for brackets, housings, and semi-structural elements
• Interior components — Sustainable plastic parts contributing to vehicle lightweighting and end-of-life recyclability
• Under-the-hood applications — Heat-resistant bio-based nylon components replacing metal parts

Major automotive OEMs have committed to increasing the share of bio-based and recycled materials in their vehicles, creating strong demand pull for products like Bionside.

Electrical and Electronics

• Connector housings — Bio-based nylon for connectors requiring precise dimensional stability and electrical insulation
• Circuit breaker components — Sustainable engineering plastics for electrical protection devices
• Cable management — Clips, ties, and organizers made from bio-based nylon

Industrial Applications

• Bearings and gears — Wear-resistant bio-based nylon components for industrial machinery
• Agricultural equipment — Sustainable plastic parts for farming machinery exposed to weather and chemicals
• Sports and leisure — High-performance bio-based nylon for sporting equipment and outdoor gear

Sustainability Impact

The introduction of bio-based nylons addresses a critical gap in the sustainable materials landscape. While significant progress has been made in developing bio-based commodity plastics (such as bio-PE and PLA), engineering plastics — which require higher performance characteristics — have been harder to produce from renewable feedstocks.

Bionside’s bio-content reduces the carbon footprint of nylon products while maintaining the mechanical properties that engineering applications demand. The automotive industry estimates that replacing conventional engineering plastics with bio-based alternatives can reduce the carbon footprint of plastic components by 30-50%.

Fakuma 2024 Launch Platform

Fakuma, held annually in Friedrichshafen, Germany, is recognized as one of the world’s most important trade events for plastics processing. The show attracts over 1,800 exhibitors and 40,000 visitors from around the globe, making it an ideal launch platform for significant new product introductions.

Radici Group used the Fakuma platform to showcase Bionside to its global customer base, demonstrating the material’s properties through live processing demonstrations and presenting application case studies developed in collaboration with key customers.

Industry Context: Bio-Based Engineering Plastics

The launch of Bionside reflects a broader industry trend toward bio-based engineering plastics. Several major chemical companies have introduced or are developing bio-based versions of their engineering plastic products:

• Bio-based PA6 and PA66 — Multiple producers are developing partially or fully bio-based nylon variants
• Bio-based PBT — Polybutylene terephthalate with bio-based content is gaining traction in automotive applications
• Bio-based PA11 — Arkema’s Rilsan PA11, derived from castin oil oil, has been commercially available for decades and serves as a benchmark for bio-based engineering plastics

Radici Group’s entry into this market with Bionside adds competitive pressure and expands customer choice, accelerating the overall transition toward more sustainable engineering plastics.

Looking Ahead

As sustainability requirements in automotive, electronics, and industrial sectors continue to tighten, demand for high-performance bio-based engineering plastics is expected to grow significantly. Radici Group’s Bionside platform positions the company to serve this expanding market, building on its established reputation for quality and technical support in engineering plastics.

The Fakuma launch marks the beginning of an expanded commercial rollout of Bionside products, with Radici Group working closely with key customers to qualify the material for specific applications and develop custom formulations optimized for different processing methods and performance requirements.

Source

For more information, visit: Radici Group announcement