A Swedish snowboard made from Swedish biocomposite – step 1

Category: Hypothesis testing projects

The project ran between May and November 2021.

The project aimed to develop innovative skis/snowboards made of sustainable materials. Within the framework of the project, fossil-based fibre composites have been substituted with natural fibre composites. The results show that alternative sustainable materials can be implemented without jeopardizing the product performance. Added value in terms of vibration damping performance is even expected. The conclusion from the project is to proceed with prototype production and field testing, as well as perform more advance LCA (Cradle-to-gate). The project has demonstrated the potential of sustainable materials that are applicable in skis and snowboard manufacturing. After further validation, there is great potential in implementing natural fibre composite solutions in skis/snowboards as there is a clear demand for more sustainable alternatives from the customer perspective. These results should be seen as a first step and are guaranteed to be followed up with introduction of even more sustainable material, such as natural fibre composite with a recyclable resin system.

Prototype.

Participants

RISE, TUR Snowboards, 1000skis and Åre Skidfabrik.

Budget

The project’s total budget was 960 000 SEK.