March - July 2024


The MonoShell Helmet redefines the future of helmet design. Through innovative Desmopan materials, it provides top-notch safety, individual style, and contributes to environmental sustainability by promoting helmet awareness and optimizing recycling possibilities.

Client: COVESTRO

MONOSHELL

  • We Erik Koch, Natalie Nürnberger and Sabrina Cisamolohave taken on the challenge of transforming the helmet into a monomaterial product and thus offering a guide for future monomaterial solutions. In collaboration with Covestro AG, the task was to use the new material New TPU/Desmopan© and to showcase its versatility.

  • The material New TPU (also called Desmopan©) has the following properties which are suitable for our product: flexibility and elasticity, abrasion resistance, weather resistance, good damping properties, recyclability, processability.

    Find out more about the material.

  • To have a recyclable helmet one needs to ensure its circularity. The helmet is intended to be used in a rental system together with bike rentals. Through a rental system the helmets circularity is ensured and the most amount of material can be recycled.

  • To ensure recyclability the inner and outer shell are made out of the same TPU Mixture and the same color. That way the helmet can be recycled as one.

    All additional pieces such as reflectors and buckles are attached with a plug mechanism so that they can be removed manually.

About the Project

Helmets have an expiry date and must be disposed of regularly every 5 years. Furthermore, helmets are usually made of many different parts and are therefore very difficult to return to the cycle.

Outer Shell

Inner Shell

Reflectors

Buckles

Inner Shell

stable shape

shock dissipation

appealing aesthetics

weight reduction

material reduction

breathable

Future Perspective

The MonoShell would be used within a rental system and the following actors are conceivable:

Uvex - helmet manufacturer and already a partner of Covestro

Swappfiets - bicycle rental service provider that currently only rents bicycles but does not offer helmets.