Room: Yangtze 1
Date: Thursday, 21 May 2026
Time: 11:30 - 12:45 CEST
Session code 6CO.6
Bioprocesses and biopolymers
From Biomass to Industrial Composites: Development and Prototyping of High-Performance FlexFuran-Based Fiber-Reinforced Thermosets
Short Introductive summary
This work introduces FlexFuran, a fully bio-based and tunable thermoset resin designed to replace fossil-based phenolic resins in high-performance composites. FlexFuran can be tailored and custom-made to meet specific performance requirements across applications such as aerospace, transportation, and sports. Experimental results show that FlexFuran achieves mechanical properties comparable to phenolic resins, a single-step low-temperature curing process, and high char yield, reducing both energy consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 75%. A glass fiber-reinforced bicycle saddle prototype validated its industrial feasibility. Scientifically, the study advances the understanding of structure–property relationships in furan-based polymers and demonstrates a scalable route toward circular, low-carbon composite materials. The accompanying BioResin start-up, launched from the Technical University of Munich, aims to scale FlexFuran production to 200 kg/day by 2027, bridging the gap between laboratory innovation and industrial implementation.
Presenter
Michel WEBER
Technical University Munich, Werner Siemens-Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, GERMANY
Presenter's biography
Michel Weber is a Research Associate and PhD candidate at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), specializing in sustainable polymer research from renewable resources. He now serves as CTO and Co-Founder of RenewPoly, a TUM spin-off developing bio-based resins for high-performance applications.
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
S. Wirth, Technical University of Munich, Garching bei München, GERMANY
K. Drechsler, Technical University of Munich, Garching bei München, GERMANY
T. Brück, Technical University of Munich, Garching bei München, GERMANY
M. Tallawi, BioResin / Technical University of Munich, Garching bei München, GERMANY
Session reference: 6CO.6.4