Yesterday's waste, today's bicycle: igus shows German Chancellor Scholz a world first made of all-plastic at the Hanover Fair

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa visited the stand of plastics specialist igus on the first day of the Hanover Fair. The focus of the conversation was the igus:bike, an innovative concept for sustainable urban mobility of the future.

At Hannover Messe 2022, igus presented a world first: the concept of a robust and durable bicycle made almost entirely of plastic - from the frame to the bearings to the toothed belt. A high proportion of the raw materials required for this can be covered by recycling plastic waste. During the tour of the world's largest industrial show for automation and Industry 4.0, Frank Blase, Managing Director of igus, presented the innovative igus:bike to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa.

"We think big and start small now. With our dream of an all-plastic bicycle, there is an opportunity to change the bicycle industry for the long term," says Frank Blase.

The igus:bike platform offers the global bicycle industry the opportunity to build a very different kind of bike in many local locations around the globe. One partner is the Dutch startup MTRL, which will start producing and selling an adult bike for cities and a children's model by the end of the year.

In the future, the all-plastic bicycle will be available in a version made of new plastic as well as in a version made of 100 percent recycled material. The market launch in Germany will take place at the beginning of 2023. Further variants, for example as, an e-bike, are also being planned. MTRL is planning local production sites around the world near plastic landfills.

"The world is changing rapidly," stated Frank Blase. "We want to shape this change with innovative ideas. If, as with the igus:bike, plastic becomes a valuable and sustainable resource, then how we deal with plastic can also change positively in many other areas."

01/09/2022