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BMW and SGL to triple production capacity at Moses Lake carbon fiber plant with $200M expansion; world’s largest carbon fiber plant

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A production line for carbon fiber takes the PAN precursor through two stages (stabilization/oxidation and carbonization) and then to winding. The site expansion, scheduled to be completed by early 2015, will make the plant in Moses Lake the world’s largest carbon fiber plant. Source: SGLACF.

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Porsche presents Mission R concept electric competition car

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While in conventional electrical machines the cooling fluid flows through a jacket outside the stator, in the case of direct cooling, the oil flows directly along the copper windings. As with the Taycan's electric motors, the hairpin winding contributes to a high yield of power and torque while maintaining compact dimensions.

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ABB and Solar Impulse in technology alliance for round-the-world flight powered by the sun

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ABB and Solar Impulse have formed a technology alliance under which ABB will support Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg in their attempt to fly around the world in a solar-powered airplane in 2015. The carbon fiber airplane has the wingspan of a Boeing 747 (63.4m / 208 ft) and the weight of a small car (1,600kg / 3,527 lb).

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Baker Institute team explores hydrogen production via methane pyrolysis with co-generation and sale of carbon products

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According to the brief, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects a 28% increase in average world energy consumption between 2015-2040, with fossil fuels continuing to take up 50-80% of that consumption. The largest markets for non-combusted carbon are carbon black (~10s MT), graphite (~0.1

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Toyota to begin sales of Mirai fuel cell vehicle in Europe by September

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European launch markets in 2015 will be the UK, Denmark and Germany; more markets will be added in 2017. Toyota said that it is expecting annual volume of 50-100 cars/year in 2015 and 2016. Toyota Mirai at Geneva 2015. Sales of the FCV began in Japan last December. Initial price is €66,000 (US$73,735) + VAT (Germany).

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2016 Optima midsize sedan gains new 1.6L engine

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Engineers also added more hot stamped components to the all-new Optima, a 350% increase over the 2015 model. The 2016 Optima is the first Kia to feature a panoramic sunroof support structure made with carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, which helps reduce weight and lower the vehicle’s center of gravity. Engines Fuel Efficiency'

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Toyota details design of fuel cell system in Mirai; work on electrode catalysts

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At the 2015 CES, Toyota announced royalty-free use of approximately 5,680 fuel-cell-related patents held globally, including critical technologies developed for the Mirai fuel cell vehicle. Earlier post.) Earlier post.) Toyota Fuel Cell System (TFCS). The 2016 paper by Hasegawa et al.

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