13:00 Welcome by Remi Bastien and Yves Schlumberger

13:05: Opening presentation

Carmen Munoz, Downstream R&D Director, EDF

13:20: Keynote: The Drive Toward Greener Materials and Sustainability Leadership at Ford 

Debbie Mielewski, Technical Fellow, Ford

Since the first laboratory success and implementation of soy-based foam 15 years ago, the Ford sustainable materials research team has been expanding the use of industry-first, sustainable plastic materials in vehicles.  Additional successes have been around natural fiber-reinforced composites such as wheat straw, rice hulls, and cellulose fiber from trees, which have been found to meet all of the stringent requirements of automotive components while significantly reducing weight and environmental impact.  Many times, we’ve discovered that natural materials exceed the performance of traditional plastic composite materials, having higher heat, vibration, or sound-absorbing performance.  

Realizing the importance of establishing a circular economy, we’ve intensified our search for industrial partnerships to utilize waste streams in value-added automotive applications.  In 2019, Ford with partner McDonald’s was the first to launch coffee chaff reinforced plastic on the headlamp housings of the Lincoln Continental.  The material saved 1 pound per vehicle and had a 20oC higher heat performance, a perfect material enhancement match for heat-generating bulbs.  And during the pandemic, Ford and partner HP launched an industry-first injection molded part made from 3d printing waste powder.  Last year, Ford introduced parts made from 100% ocean fishing nets on the Ford Bronco as a response to address ocean plastic accumulation.  

During her presentation, Dr. Mielewski will discuss the broad portfolio of greener materials and  available now and those anticipated for the future that can not only reduce the automotive industry’s footprint but many other industries’ as well.

13:35: Panel discussion

Our experts will be discussing the following topics:

• The Renault approach 

• Energy Saving & CO2 Reduction 

• Dunkerque example 

The speakers for the panel discussion are:

• Sophie Schmidtlin, CTO Circular Economy Business, Renault Group

• Debbie Mielewski, Technical Fellow, Ford

• Solène Le Bourdiec, Project Manager for Circular Economy, EDF

• David Fillon, Industry 4.0 & Manufacturing Support and Development General Manager, Toyota Motor Manufacturing France

14:35: Q&A from audience

14:55 Closing summary by Remi Bastien and Yves Schlumberger