Modern Meadow enters development partnership with Mercedes-Benz: leather alternative made of INNOVERA™.

A groundbreaking innovation made of INNOVERA™, formerly known as BIO-VERA®, is setting new standards in vehicle interiors, expanding possibilities for luxury cars well beyond the realm of traditional materials. 

Mercedes-Benz’s LABFIBER Biotech Leather Alternative, created for its technology program CONCEPT AMG GT XX, marks the beginning of a significant development partnership between Mercedes-Benz AG and Modern Meadow: aimed to further develop this innovative material for series production, it paves the way for a completely new generation of automotive interiors. 

By replicating key properties of the collagens found in leather, the bio-design material offers a level of design freedom equivalent to that of traditional leather and can be produced with different finishes such as nubuck, full grain or suede, and in various colors and haptics. 

Crafted completely without animal inputs, it is composed of plant-based proteins, biopolymers and recycled rubber – including, in this case, chemically recycled AMG GT3 racing car tires. The recycling process is conducted in accordance with the mass balance approach.

For this technology program, everything was optimized so that one scrap tire provides the basis for approximately four square meters of this new, bio-designed material. 

The black seat pads of the bucket seats are covered with the Nappa-look variant. The innovative material emphasizes the performance character of the CONCEPT AMG GT XX.

The bio-design means the leather alternative is breathable and waterproof, as well as lighter than traditional materials. Its maximum tensile strength is also twice as high as that of traditional materials, making it very robust and performant. 

With these unique properties, the material represents the new dimension of performance the CONCEPT AMG GT XX stands for.

INNOVERA™ achieves more than 80% renewable carbon content and requires no special preservation or storage conditions, reducing complexity and costs, and is adaptable to any standard manufacturing process. 

Modern Meadow’s commercial production capabilities make INNOVERA™ readily available to customers and simplify supply chain issues across the furniture, automotive, fashion, footwear and accessories industries.