It’s a global dietary staple, the most consumed food on the planet… and now, it’s also a surprising addition to the SEAT Arona. We’re talking about rice, or rather, its husk. SEAT has just become the first car brand to incorporate two double-floor support parts made of Oryzite in the boot of one of its production models—an innovative, renewable, and natural-based material produced from rice by-products after harvesting. This project was launched in 2020 as a pilot test within the framework of the company’s Innovation Days, and aftser several years of joint research and development between SEAT and the companies Oryzite and SIGIT, it’s now fully integrated into the SEAT Arona series.
5 tonnes of rice residue put to good use. When you open the boot of the SEAT Arona, a versatile urban SUV, nothing suggests any change in the parts of the double-floor support. But in fact, what was once 100% polypropylene and fibreglass, now also contains 15% of Oryzite, a bio-based alternative to plastic. “60 grams of rice husks are now currently used in each SEAT Arona that leaves the production line, which means that every year we use up to 5 tonnes of this by-product from the rice fields of the Ebro Delta, a biosphere reserve on the east coast of Spain” explains Gerard Suriol, Interior Development at the SEAT S.A. Technical Centre.
Win-win. “We’ve successfully managed to incorporate this renewable material and encourage the circular economy, while reducing the use of petroleum-based products” says Gerard. But the benefits go beyond sustainability—the weight of the part is reduced by 5.8% and the cost of production by up to 2%. Not only is Oryzite a renewable material, but it’s also an excellent carbon sink that helps reduce emissions and is an innovative way to link the primary and industrial sectors.
SOURCE: SEAT
