Bio-based flame retardants
Phytic acid, lignin, cellulose derivatives and other biomass-based systems for biopolymers such as PLA and for commodity plastics.
Flame retardancy of polymers & composites
Polymers with a safer reaction to fire. Without the toxic trade-off.
Polymers are everywhere in buildings, vehicles, cables and batteries, and they burn. Our goal, as a scientific and industrial community, is to design halogen-free, bio-based and recyclable flame-retardant materials that slow fire growth and meet safety standards while staying compatible with a circular economy.
Dr. Fouad Laoutid, HDRHead of the Polymers & Composites Department, Materia Nova (Mons, Belgium)
Ranked among the World's Top 2% Scientists, 2024 and 2025
Ranked among the World's Top 2% Scientists, 2024 and 2025
2–3Feb 2027
Upcoming workshop · CLICK, MonsFire Behaviour of Continuous-Fibre Polymer CompositesCo-organised with the SCF fire group · Abstract deadline: 15 November 2026
Cone calorimeter · 35 kW/m²
Peak HRR–
Time to peak–
Total heat–
Illustrative curves showing the typical effect of a char-forming flame-retardant system: a lower, flatter heat release peak and less total heat. The heat release rate (HRR) peak is the main driver of fire growth.
The challenge
Fire safety is being redesigned
For decades, halogenated additives made polymers fire-safe cheaply. Regulation, health concerns and recycling targets now require a new generation of solutions.
Regulation
Phasing out substances of concern
Several brominated flame retardants are restricted as persistent organic pollutants, and REACH keeps adding substances (including boric acid) to its candidate list. Melamine, the basis of widely used nitrogen flame retardants, is now a substance of very high concern, and ECHA recommended it for REACH authorisation in 2025. We are developing effective alternatives that are safe by design, including melamine-free systems.
Circularity
Fire-safe and recyclable
Recycled polymers and bio-based resins must reach the same fire classifications as virgin materials. A patented process developed at Materia Nova depolymerises PU and PIR foam waste into recycled polyols by catalytic glycolysis in reactive extrusion, a continuous route suited to industrial scale-up. New rigid foams containing 50 wt.% recycled polyol can then be flame-retarded with phosphorus-based and bio-based additives to meet building requirements.
New risks
Electrification and lightweighting
Lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles and composite structures bring new fire scenarios, from thermal runaway to fibre-reinforced parts in rail and aerospace.
Science
How flame retardants interrupt a fire
A burning polymer feeds itself: heat decomposes it into flammable gases, which burn and send heat back to the surface. Flame retardants break this cycle at different points.
Expertise
What I work on
More than 20 years of research and industrial projects, from the molecule to the processed part and its fire test.
Halogen-free mineral fillers
Hydrated minerals, high-surface lime, calcium-based and organo-mineral systems for flame-retardant thermoplastics.
Thermoplastic and thermoset composites
Flame-retardant thermoplastic and thermoset matrices for fibre-reinforced composites, for transport, construction and energy.
Recycled polyurethane foams
Rigid PU foams made with recycled polyols from a patented reactive-extrusion glycolysis process, flame-retarded to building standards.
Battery fire safety
Fire-resistant materials for battery housings and intrinsically flame-retarded solid polymer electrolytes to reduce fire risks in lithium-ion batteries, including UL 2596 torch-and-grit testing of enclosure materials.
Reactive extrusion and mechanochemistry
Solvent-free routes to graft, synthesise or modify flame-retardant additives directly in continuous processes.
Fire testing expertise
From formulation to fire classification
Fire performance has to be measured, not assumed. Developing a flame-retardant material means working with the reaction-to-fire and electrical safety tests that industry uses to qualify it, from small-scale screening to the prediction of building classifications.
| Method | Standard | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Mass loss cone calorimeter | ISO 17554 | Monitoring of heat release and mass loss under a controlled radiant heat flux |
| Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) | ISO 4589-2 ASTM D2863 | Minimum oxygen concentration that supports candle-like combustion |
| UL 94 | UL 94 IEC 60695-11-10 | Fire classification of materials, vertical and horizontal (V-0, V-1, V-2, HB) |
| Single-flame source test | EN ISO 11925-2 | Vertical flammability (ignitability) of products exposed to a small flame |
| Glow wire test | IEC 60695-2-11/-12/-13 | Flammability of plastic materials used in electrical and electronic products and household appliances (GWFI, GWIT) |
| CTI | IEC 60112 | Electrical tracking resistance of insulating materials, a key electrical and fire safety parameter for electronics, household appliances and electrical / e-mobility applications |
| Smoke chamber | ASTM D2843 | Smoke opacity from the combustion or decomposition of plastic materials |
| SBI simulation | – | Prediction of Single Burning Item results and Euroclass from cone calorimeter data |
| UL 2596 coming soon | UL 2596 | Thermal runaway simulation on battery enclosure materials: combined high-temperature torch and grit-blast exposure |
About the author
Dr. Fouad Laoutid
Polymer chemist (PhD 2003, HDR 2016) with more than 20 years of research on the flame retardancy and fire behaviour of polymers and composites, bridging academic research and industrial innovation.
107publications, incl. 85 journal articles
7,385citations · h-index 37
9patents, several with industrial partners
9PhD theses supervised
Reference reviews
- New prospects in flame retardant polymer materials: from fundamentals to nanocompositesLaoutid, Bonnaud, Alexandre, Lopez-Cuesta, Dubois · Materials Science and Engineering: R: Reports 63, 100–125 · DOI
- Bio-based flame retardants: when nature meets fire protectionCostes, Laoutid, Brohez, Dubois · Materials Science and Engineering: R: Reports 117, 1–25
- Flame retardant polymer materials: an update and the future for 3D printing developmentsVahabi, Laoutid, Mehrpouya, Saeb, Dubois · Materials Science and Engineering: R: Reports 144, 100604
Community & recognition
- World's Top 2% Scientists, 2024 and 2025Stanford / Elsevier ranking, Polymers
- Founder of ECOFRAM, 2016International Conference on Eco-Friendly Flame Retardant Additives and Materials
- Scientific Committee member, ECOFRAM and FRPMFRPM: European Meeting on Fire Retardant Polymeric Materials
- Vice-President, SCF thematic group, 2015–2025Thermal Degradation and Fire Behaviour of Organic Materials
- Guest EditorSpecial issues on flame-retardant materials in Materials and Polymers (MDPI)
- Board member, PLASTIWINWalloon plastics cluster
News & insights
What is changing in fire safety
Regulatory updates, notable publications and industry developments on flame-retardant materials, with our reading of what they mean in practice.
Contact
Working on a fire-safety problem?
Material substitution, a failed fire test, a new regulation or a collaborative project proposal: let's talk about it.
flaoutid@hotmail.comProfiles