FORVIA HELLA presents pioneering “Sustainable Headlamp” concept

Lippstadt, 13 February 2024. The international automotive supplier FORVIA HELLA has developed a pioneering concept for a headlamp that combines sustainability, high performance and functionality in a cost-neutral way. Over the entire product life cycle, the headlamp designed as part of a pre-development has a CO2 footprint that is up to 70 percent lower; it weighs just two kilograms instead of the conventional about five kilograms. The concept was presented for the first time worldwide at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas at the beginning of the year.

"We want to shape the mobility of the future with product solutions that are both innovative and particularly sustainable, and which benefit customers, consumers as well as the environment," says Yves Andres, who is responsible for FORVIA HELLA's global lighting business as a member of the Management Board. "As a technology leader, we therefore also want to be a frontrunner with regard to our lighting products and take another significant step towards a circular economy. We have therefore designed a near-series headlamp that impressively demonstrates the possibilities of harmonising sustainability and performance without having to compromise on safety and comfort."

The "Sustainable Headlamp" concept developed by FORVIA HELLA is essentially based on three basic principles: less, better, longer. Firstly, based on a completely new design principle, significantly fewer components are used, purely decorative components with no function are omitted and replaced by elements that are required for structural purposes. Secondly, materials such as bio-based plastics or recyclates, for example from recycled drinks bottles, are primarily used. A SSL48 light module is integrated. On the one hand, this requires significantly less installation space thanks to a highly efficient optical lens. On the other hand, it implements lighting functions software-based only, reducing the efforts required for different headlamps variants and enabling subsequent upgrades. Thirdly, unlike conventional headlamps, it should also be possible to replace and repair individual parts in order to extend the service life of the headlight and significantly increase the recycling rate of the components used.

Compared to modern LED headlamps on the market, the overall concept of the sustainable headlamps is designed to be cost-neutral and thus to be realised without additional expenses. In particular, the installation of reused components, the reduction in component requirements and the lower overall weight shall offset the cost of higher-quality materials.

Lighting Managing Director Yves Andres: "With our headlamp concept, we have proven that sustainability, performance and functionality are not contradictory. In the next step, we want to further develop and deepen the approaches of our sustainable headlamp together with our customers and bring them closer to possible series projects in the medium term."