Recent developments in automotive sustainability have highlighted an urgent need to reduce the 18-22% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the creation and disposal of vehicle materials, according to David Williamson, PhD and CEO of biomaterial innovator Modern Meadow. Williamson says that a key solution is the introduction of next-generation textiles—new materials that mimic leather’s look and feel while offering superior durability and significantly reducing GHG emissions. In this Futurride Q&A, he provided insights into the future of materials and sustainable automotive manufacturing.

 

Futurride: How is the leather in cars contributing to GHG emissions?

Williamson: When we assess a product’s environmental footprint, we must account for more than just the emissions that come from its use—we must also consider the environmental impact of the product’s manufacturing and disposal. For combustion vehicles, roughly 80% of emissions come from their use (primarily tailpipe emissions), according to the World Economic Forum.

Leather is typically used in trim elements of a car covering the steering wheel, seats, and/or dashboards. The weight of this material—even if small compared to the rest of the vehicle—adds to the overall energy demands of the car. Therefore, finding lighter alternatives can help to reduce the energy needed to move it and help reduce GHG emissions associated with vehicle use.

When used, leather contributes to the remaining 20% of emissions in myriad ways. It is difficult to attribute a specific quantity of GHG emissions associated with leather production because there is debate in the field about whether livestock husbandry and its associated GHG emissions should be included.

However, even without considering livestock, there are many processes in leather production and destruction that lead to GHG emissions, according to the Leather Panel. This includes the transportation of hides from slaughterhouses to processing facilities and tanneries; the treatment of wastewater produced during the tanning process; and the degradation of leather in landfills. All of this gets folded into the overall GHG emissions that are associated with the final product, in this case, the interior trim of vehicles.

If we want to reduce GHG emissions in vehicles, we certainly need to continue our efforts in developing and deploying electric engines and lightweight drivetrains, which address the 80% of emissions caused by vehicle use. But that alone won’t be enough; we must also address the remaining 20% of emissions. One way to do that is to explore the use of lighter-weight next-generation materials that have fewer lifecycle emissions.

 

Futurride: What are next-generation surface materials, and how can they help the automotive industry reduce GHG emissions?

Williamson: Next-generation materials are novel textiles made with bio-based or synthetic components whose combination allows for both high material performance and sustainability. Many such materials are also being designed to reduce the environmental impact of textile production as well as material contribution to landfills. Well-designed next-generation materials can help reduce the GHG emissions associated with the manufacturing, use, and disposal of automobiles.

If we consider leather as an example, GHG can come from the transport of raw hides, the treatment of wastewater that’s produced in tanneries, and the considerable energy consumption that’s required during the tanning processes. Next-generation materials possess many of the same qualities as leather and their production often requires significantly less water, reducing the need for wastewater treatment. Additionally, if the material can be easily dropped into the final stages of leather production workflows, it reduces the time to final product, making it a more energy-efficient material.

During vehicle use, next-generation materials can help reduce GHG emissions if they are designed to be lighter weight relative to standard materials. By decreasing vehicle weight, these materials help to reduce the amount of energy needed to power the vehicle, ultimately reducing the amount of GHGs produced.

Lastly, some next-generation materials are designed to be circular, meaning that, upon a product’s end-of-life stage, the material can be broken down into its component parts and diverted back into the manufacturing process. Not only does this reduce the amount of virgin materials being sourced for a given product, but it also diverts materials away from landfills where their degradation may result in GHG production, according to the Leather Panel.

In summary, next-generation materials can help reduce the need for GHG-emitting processes during vehicle manufacturing; can be made to reduce the weight of vehicles, enabling better fuel efficiency; and can divert materials from the landfill in the vehicle’s end-of-life stage.

 

Futurride: Why haven’t sustainable surface materials caught on more quickly in automotive, and what are some of the challenges with their market entrance?

Williamson: Sustainable materials are of significant interest to most automakers. You can see this in end-of-year sustainability reports, where many describe efforts to develop or adopt such materials. However, we haven’t yet seen widespread deployment of these materials in the auto sector. There are many potential explanations for this that range from issues with the materials themselves to the challenges associated with large-scale manufacturing.

For the former, many sustainable materials struggle to find a balance between performance and sustainability. The inside of a car can be an unforgiving place for materials. Over the average 12-year lifecycle for a car, its interior may be repeatedly exposed to extreme temperatures, abrasive wear and tear forces, and the various other elements that we bring into our cars.

It is difficult to build a novel material that is both sustainable and high-performing across all of these metrics. It takes a durable material to maintain its color, texture, and integrity throughout this time. Too often, sustainable materials must sacrifice performance, resulting in lower resilience, color fastness, or other such qualities that make them unsuitable for use in vehicles.

Still, some materials can be both sustainable and high-performing but cannot scale in a meaningful way. When building thousands of cars for a given model, manufacturers require a robust source of materials that can be reliably molded in precise ways.

Sustainable material manufacturers often struggle to meet these demands because their novel material requires a bespoke workflow that may involve multiple hands-on steps and technical expertise. Such a workflow will require new manufacturing infrastructure, a specialized staff, and—with hands-on steps—may be prone to variable production quality.

These limitations have thus far prevented the widespread adoption of sustainable materials in the automotive industry. Fortunately, some companies have found a way to produce high-performing materials with a low carbon footprint that are uniquely scalable, which is largely made possible by a material’s drop-in capabilities or how easily it can be added to a company’s current processes.

 

Futurride: What are your predictions for market adoption of next-generation surface materials in the auto industry; even with drop-in technology, change may require a forcing function, so what will motivate change?

Many brands have communicated their desire to integrate next-generation materials into vehicle designs including Land Rover, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, and many others. I expect that in the coming years, we’ll see the increasing use of next-generation materials in luxury vehicle design and subsequently in everyday vehicles. These materials will be designed to reduce environmental impact while also meeting the industry’s needs surrounding scalability, performance, and fashion, which is a significant factor in automobile success.

One trend that might catalyze this is the proliferation of autonomous vehicles. Without the need to design around a driver, manufacturers are beginning to rethink vehicle interior design and layout. Such a rethinking will place a heavier emphasis on the quality of trim materials and how they contribute to the passenger’s overall experience. Next-generation materials are well suited for this transformation, providing the automotive industry with the resources it needs to reduce GHG emissions while redefining the automotive landscape.

There will likely be several catalysts that lead to change in the industry. Consumers are increasingly demanding environmental responsibility from manufacturers, which means manufacturers who use next-generation materials may find an edge in the market.

A more immediate and substantial force will come from governmental regulations that incentivize manufacturers to reduce GHG emissions through carbon taxes and other such directives. For example, the European Union recently introduced legislation—the End-Of-Life Vehicles Directive—to improve the circularity of automobile design, encouraging manufacturers to use upcycled and recycled materials.

 

Futurride: Cost is a big issue, so how can this be addressed by manufacturers?

Williamson: A key feature for advanced sustainable materials to overcome cost barriers is to engineer them and their production process to integrate seamlessly into existing production processes. For example, materials must be compatible with current manufacturing equipment and workflows, enabling companies to adopt them without requiring expensive new infrastructure or re-engineering their production lines.

By building on the established expertise, equipment, and techniques of the currently existing industries sustainable materials can reduce the risks associated with adopting new technologies. This compatibility means manufacturers can use their existing know-how, minimizing disruption and ensuring smooth integration into their operations. The result is faster adoption, as the learning curve for processing these materials is often minimal and the timeline to scale-up production is minimized.

Moreover, by leveraging existing production capabilities, manufacturers avoid the high capital costs of investing in specialized equipment. This makes sustainable materials that are developed with this approach a more accessible option, particularly for companies looking to transition toward greener practices without significant upfront expenditures.

These features collectively facilitate adoption while supporting sustainability goals. By ensuring that new materials work within established systems, manufacturers can achieve environmental benefits without sacrificing efficiency or incurring excessive costs—a practical and impactful step toward a more sustainable future.