This first-of-its-kind, fully circular cover is upholstered in Helios, a brand-new material innovation developed by Gen Phoenix; made using recycled end-of-life waste in a closed-loop process, that can continue to be recycled again and again. The Circular Dress Cover marks a paradigm shift in aircraft seating sustainability. Current seat covers are traditionally made from a mix of non-recyclable materials that are hard to separate and end up in landfills or incinerated after their typical service life. In contrast, Gen Phoenix's patent-pending technology allows airlines' old seat covers to be fully recycled, in their entirety, and repurposed at the end of their lives through the company's innovative process.
"Airlines are under immense pressure to reduce waste and meet aggressive net-zero emissions targets," says Nico den Ouden, CTO and GM Seating of Gen Phoenix. "Helios, our latest material innovation, provides a revolutionary new circular solution for airlines looking to eliminate a significant waste stream and lower the carbon footprint of aircraft interiors. It's a win for sustainability and a win for airlines."
Early life cycle analysis shows the Circular Dress Cover reduces the carbon emissions footprint by approximately 30% as compared to traditional dress cover manufacturing. For a typical airline with 180 aircraft, it could prevent over 3 tons of landfill waste per year.
Created with 100% components designed for recyclability, the Circular Dress Cover meets all performance specifications for aircraft seating, including the 12-second vertical burn certification. A new bio-based coating provides a premium soft touch for a luxury passenger experience, while maintaining all the required durability. Through a take-back programme, Gen Phoenix will collect and recycle their customer's dress covers at the end of their useful life, breaking them down and building them back up again with no compromise to performance or passenger experience.
"We worked with Gen Phoenix to develop a laminated system that could be fully recycled, using an alternative to the traditional foam stack up. Gen Phoenix had successfully proven the process to recycle these dress covers, and this was one of the major technical breakthroughs from the team," says Nick Wain, Director, Sabeti Wain Aerospace.
Gen Phoenix, Sabeti Wain Aerospace and Doy Design will debut the Circular Dress Cover at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg in May 2024, with widespread commercial availability targeted for early 2025. The Circular Dress Cover will be featured on the Ultra-slim, low carbon seat concept designed by Gary Doy of Doy Design, which has been adapted in collaboration with Impressions Technologies, to demonstrate the possibilities of recycling the entire seat frame and structure at the end of its life. This has been achieved by manufacturing the seat backs out of recycled aluminium and employs a new pressing technology (Hot Form Quench) from Impression Technologies. This allows for high strength and deep draw parts to be used in a monocoque construction which reduces part count and weight.
"The Ultra Slim Low Carbon Demonstrator Seat is an exercise in making design decisions that prioritise circularity and reduce the embedded carbon of the materials used," says Gary Doy of Doy Design. "One of the most difficult areas of an aircraft seat to recycle is the cushion and dress cover system. To solve this problem, we needed to reevaluate the construction of the system and design a product with recycling in mind. We worked closely with SabetiWain Aerospace to develop a cushion system that can be readily disassembled at the end of life whilst delivering a long-lasting product."
The Aircraft Interior Recycling Association (AIRA) employed their AIRA Q system to all the materials in the seat. They calculated the embedded carbon and identified the material for every individual part to support its recycling at the end of life.
"One of the successes of this project has been the collaboration of very different businesses who have a genuine passion to make a difference. The seat is just a catalyst to focus attention, the real win is getting people to work together to generate innovative solutions and push for a more sustainable approach," says Nico den Ouden.
