Cellutech is proud to present:
A Bicycle helmet made from the forest
September 23, 2015

Cellutech got the mission to develop a prototype of a helmet entirely made of wood. The project was a part of Ekoportal2035, a vision of a biobased future, created by Skogsindustrierna. We teamed up with designer Rasmus Malbert from the design studio Materialist, and this was the beautiful result:

Rasmus and co-designer Jesper Jonsson designed and constructed the helmet using different types of cellulose materials. The outer shell of the helmet is made of wood veneer and the strap of durable paper. The inside cushioning is made of Cellufoam™.

Cellufoam™ is a new and unique material made of nanocellulose produced from wood pulp and is therefore both renewable and biodegradable. The properties of Cellufoam™ are suitable for use in e.g. lightweight construction, packaging materials and absorbent products. The idea of the foam comes from a research group within the Wallenberg Wood Science Center (WWSC) and has been further developed by Cellutech. "The collaboration with Cellutech makes it possible to commercialize the new materials we develop within WWSC and bring them closer to the market" - Lars Wågberg, Professor at the Royal Institute of Technology.

The bicycle helmet is the first example of how Cellufoam™ can be used. Work is now in progress to find more applications that are suitable. There is currently an increasing need for renewable and biodegradable foam materials that can replace plastic foams. "We have shown that with new innovations and good cooperation with university research it is possible to use forest raw materials to produce foam materials, that is something we are very proud of"  - Åsa Ek, Development Manager at Cellutech

The design process

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Rasmus runs the design studio Materialist, developing materials through design processes, combined with creative craftsmanship. The studio's special focus is the material innovations of the forest industry  and how they can be taken from lab to reality through prototyping and "future leaps".

Rasmus Malbert
Designer MFA 
(master of fine arts)

"The opportunity to work together with Cellutech has been incredibly interesting as it involved a creative journey for both me and the company. I feel that together we developed the material Cellufoam™ forward and I'm proud to show our result to the rest of the world. I think there is an incredibly strong potential in this material, we are just at the beginning of an exciting trend where more and more petroleum-based materials are replaced with renewable alternatives." - Rasmus Malbert

Images courtesy of Rasmus Malbert