Integrating safety and sustainability: FlexCrash and SALIENT drive safer and greener transportation
As Europe pursues its ambitious climate and sustainability goals, the transformation of the mobility sector has become a priority. From reducing emissions and improving road safety to promoting energy efficiency, the European Union is accelerating the shift toward cleaner, smarter transportation.
Research and innovation are key drivers of this transformation. By encouraging collaboration among academia, industry, and technology sectors, the EU is advancing the green transition while strengthening its role as a leader in sustainable mobility.
FlexCrash and SALIENT, two Horizon Europe-funded projects, are good examples of how research and innovation can support the EU in shaping the mobility of tomorrow. Launched in September 2022 under the call “Testing safe lightweight vehicles and improved safe human-technology interaction in the future traffic system”, both projects focus on developing lightweight, high-performance vehicle components while embracing environmental responsibility in the mobility sector.
Redesigning vehicle structures for a safer, smarter and more sustainable future
The FlexCrash project has the ambition to create the new generation of crash-tolerant structures by developing a flexible and hybrid manufacturing technology using high-strength green aluminium alloys. With this innovative technology, the project addresses key automotive challenges such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing passenger safety. To achieve this, FlexCrash conducts advanced testing—including crash, fracture, and fatigue analysis—and uses virtual simulations to evaluate material behaviour and vehicle response.
To achieve this, the project is applying advanced testing techniques—including crash, fracture, and fatigue analysis—and is creating virtual simulations to evaluate material behaviour and vehicle performance under a variety of scenarios.
A key innovation of FlexCrash is the use of additive manufacturing to apply surface patterns that strategically reinforce or weaken structural areas. This allows crash structures to absorb impact more effectively while maintaining a lightweight profile. Future crash load cases are being used to validate newly designed front-end safety concepts, ensuring these structures perform under real-world conditions.
FlexCrash’s contributions go beyond today’s challenges, they anticipate future accident scenarios and provide innovative safety concepts designed to meet them. While Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are essential, they may not eliminate all collisions. Projects like FlexCrash are crucial for adapting to evolving traffic conditions and progressing toward a zero-crash vision.
On the other hand, SALIENT is focused on redefining the vehicle’s front-end architecture. Its primary innovation is a novel Front End Structure (FES) that combines smart, circular, and lightweight materials. SALIENT partners are working closely together across seven different countries, advancing material development to integrate advanced lightweight materials, including a carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) crash box and 6063 aluminium alloy. The result is a front-end system capable of adapting various crash scenarios, while achieving significant weight reductions.
Additionally, the design enables substantially greater specific energy absorption compared to metal crash boxes, resulting in a low mass while providing high energy absorption capabilities. It offers exceptional durability, making it well-suited for circular economy approaches, as it can remain intact for extended periods. In this scope, an Ecodesign Guide for the Automotive Sector has been published within the project, offering a holistic view of the ecodesign principles within the context of the circular economy model.
Designed for mixed-traffic environments, SALIENT’s FES considers the safety of all road users—not only vehicle occupants, but also pedestrians and cyclists. By integrating intelligent materials and modular design principles, SALIENT advances passive safety and promotes circularity in vehicle construction. SALIENT aims to make roads safer and reduce injuries and fatalities through the novel structural and vehicle concepts developed during the project’s lifetime, ultimately ensuring a meaningful impact on the automotive industry and society as a whole.
Where safety meets sustainability
As the automotive sector transitions toward electric, autonomous, and lightweight vehicle platforms, traditional safety paradigms must evolve. SALIENT and FlexCrash understand this imperative.
Safety: Both projects contribute directly to reducing the number and severity of injuries and fatalities caused by road accidents. SALIENT’s improved FES compatibility and FlexCrash’s adaptive crash structures represent real advances in passive safety.
Lightweighting: Reducing vehicle mass is essential to boost energy efficiency and extend the range of electric vehicles. SALIENT achieves this through innovative design, while FlexCrash tackles it via smart material use and efficient production techniques.
Sustainability: Circularity and resource efficiency are embedded into both projects. SALIENT is developing components designed for disassembly and reuse, while FlexCrash emphasises the use of green aluminium alloys—a step toward lowering the environmental footprint of vehicle production.
Building a smarter, safer, and greener mobility ecosystem
One of the most exciting aspects of FlexCrash and SALIENT is their potential impact beyond individual components. Together, they contribute to a fundamental rethinking of how vehicles are designed, built, and integrated into a mixed-traffic environment. Their innovations pave the way for mobility systems where human safety, environmental responsibility, and cutting-edge engineering coexist.
Together, they exemplify the power of EU-funded innovation to make real-world impacts—delivering safer roads, greener mobility, and a smarter transportation ecosystem. As they advance, both projects show their potential to help Europe in the transition toward a future where safety, sustainability, and innovation go hand in hand.