Mercedes Concept Car Gets Silky, Sustainable Treatment

Mercedes Benz has unveiled its latest electric vehicle concept, the Vision EQXX, boasting a range of more than 1,000 kilometers on a single battery charge, which equates to less than 10 kWh of energy consumed per 100 kilometers. This is due in part to the exterior design and aerodynamics, which achieve a benchmark drag coefficient of 0.17.

The Vision EQXX also features innovative interior materials, “revealing a way forward for luxury design that conserves resources and is in balance with nature,” said the company. The Vision EQXX combines a mix of sustainable materials — from mushrooms to bamboo, cactus, and vegan silk — in its interior, showing that it is still possible to achieve automotive luxury and a feeling of premium comfort without using animal products. This approach has halved the carbon footprint of formerly leather-based appointments alone.

One example of interior innovation is AMSilk GmbH partnering with Mercedes-Benz to develop novel, sustainable car-door pulls employing Biosteel fiber. This high-strength, certified-vegan, silk-like fabric is made using AMSilk's proprietary biotechnology expertise. AMSilk is the world's first industrial supplier of vegan-silk biopolymers that are 100% biodegradable, recyclable, renewable, and zero-waste. Marking a first in the automotive sector, AMSilk's Biosteel provides the car industry with a bio-based alternative to petroleum-based content.

Ulrich Scherbel, CEO of AMSilk, said: "We are extremely proud to partner with Mercedes-Benz on the technology program Vision EQXX, providing sustainable interior design solutions from our best-in-class bio-based fibers. Amid a fresh wave of ambitious climate pledges, we are proud to be playing a leading role in providing solutions for a zero-waste future."

Many other details demonstrate how consistently the Vision EQXX has been designed for aerodynamics: