Sustainable lightweight construction from Stuttgart

"We aim to address the environmental issues caused by aluminum and glass fiber-reinforced plastics", says Mathias Engelfried. As a research associate at the University of Stuttgart's Institute of Aircraft Design (IFB), he and his colleagues Dominique Bergmann and Klaus Heudorfer have developed an innovative manufacturing process that integrates bio-based plastics particularly effectively into flax fiber textiles. The lightweight materials produced from renewable raw materials in this way exhibit mechanical properties comparable to those of glass fiber-reinforced plastics, which are difficult or costly to recycle. This new manufacturing process has several advantages, explains Engelfried: “We can produce a very high-quality material quickly, energy-efficiently and with low material usage. The process can also be automated, whereas conventional production requires a lot of manual work.”

The patented process is the unique selling point of BEHtec. The start-up focuses on the mobility sector. Together with corporate customers from the camping and bicycle industries, the founders are currently working on two pilot projects: One is lightweight components for interior caravan cladding and the other is a cargo bike container. In 2023, Engelfried had already developed a container made of flax fibers and bioplastics as head of an IFB project with the cargo bike manufacturer “Radkutsche”. Sustainable lightweight materials are also well-suited for applications such as interior cladding in airplanes, trains, and buses, as well as components for wind turbines. In the medium to long term, BEHtec also intends to develop solutions for the aviation and energy sectors.

A coach from the TRACES transfer center at the University of Stuttgart encouraged the researchers to take the plunge. "The university's wide-ranging support has been a great help to us", says Engelfried. BEHtec is currently a “Transfer- und Gründerunternehmung” (TGU) under the umbrella of the University of Stuttgart's TTI - Technologie-Transfer-Initiative GmbH [de], which is responsible for financial management, among other things. As part of the “NaturStoff” bottom-up transfer project within the Innovation Campus 'Mobility of the Future' (ICM), the founders have been advancing the technical development of their approach since early 2024. They also took part in the ICM Early Ride program, which supports start-ups in the early phase. The team can use rooms in the IFB as offices.

“The biggest challenge for us last year was applying for the EXIST research transfer,” recalls Engelfried. This success is also thanks to TTI GmbH, which supported the team during the application process and continues to advise them on issues such as project development. Since October 2024, BEHtec has been receiving 18 months of start-up funding for science-based ventures, financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) and the European Social Fund. BEHtec is currently using the EXIST funds to set up a process line with six sub-systems in a hall area at the university in order to demonstrate its marketability to potential corporate customers.

The founding team has recently grown: Andreas Koch brings expertise in corporate development and marketing, complementing the other three founders' specializations in natural fiber composites, product development, and process automation. BEHtec is to become a GmbH in the summer. We are working extremely hard because we want to become independent as quickly as possible. It's not always easy - but it's an exciting journey,” says Engelfried. His key advice to other founders is to plan ahead: It's important to seek funding as early as possible and to engage with potential customers to understand their needs.

Text: Miriam Hoffmeyer