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This new IACMI project will address both of these critical areas through a fundamentally different approach to the manufacturing of carbon fiber composites versus those currently in use today. High cycle time for production of continuous carbon fiber thermoplastic composites increases costs. The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, IACMI , in partnership with DuPont Performance Materials, Fibrtec Inc. MORE
LeMond Carbon announced the results of an independent technical audit conducted by Bureau Veritas (BV) of its carbon fiber manufacturing process. The audit was conducted on a pilot line at Deakin University’s Carbon Nexus facility in Geelong, Australia. MORE
Ford and DowAksa signed a joint development agreement (JDA) formally to advance research on cost-effective, high-volume manufacturing of automotive-grade carbon fiber, a material poised to play a significant role in the drive to make vehicles lighter. will combine DowAksa’s feedstock capacity, carbon fiber conversion and downstream intermediates production capabilities with Ford’s expertise in design, engineering and high-volume manufacturing. MORE
million from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop and validate technology that will reduce the cost of manufacturing high-performance carbon fiber by 25% to make composite natural gas or hydrogen fuel tanks to power cars and trucks. Validating the use of low-cost, high-strength carbon fiber for compressed hydrogen and natural gas storage tanks will help expand technology choices for ground transportation. MORE
The carbon-fiber exoskeleton allows employees to sit without a chair. covered surfaces support the buttocks and thighs while two struts made of carbon?fiber?reinforced fiber?reinforced They now have significantly less physical stress due to the supportive carbon-fiber device, which allows them to alternate between sitting and standing while working. MORE
Woven carbon fiber can act as an electrode for lithium ion batteries. Researchers in Sweden are exploring the use of carbon fiber as an active electrode in a multifunctional structural Li-ion battery in an electric car; i.e., electrical storage is incorporated into the body of the car. 1 , several grades of commercially-available polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers displayed a reversible capacity close to or above 100 mAh g ?1 MORE
Borealis, a supplier of polyolefin plastic materials for engineering applications in the automotive industry, announced the availability of Fibremod, its innovative carbon and glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (PP) technology, for the North American automotive market. Short-glass, long-glass and carbon fiber formulations are available, with customizable fiber content ratios, to enable manufacturers to balance strength, weight, and cost according to specific design needs. MORE
The BMW Group has selected SGL Carbon to produce a cover component for battery enclosures. This substantial multi-year order will include the production of an innovative glass-fiber-based cover plate for the battery housing for usage in a future plug-in hybrid model of BMW Group. Composite materials m are suited for battery enclosures for different reasons—besides their light weight, which enhances the electric vehicle’s range, fiber-reinforced plastics offer high stiffness. MORE
One case in point is carbon fiber, which is light and strong, but also expensive. Now, a research firm partially funded by BMW--which uses large amounts of carbon fiber in its i3 electric car and i8 plug-in hybrid--claims to be on the verge of slashing this material''s Lightweight materials can help improve fuel efficiency, but they also add cost. MORE
CSIRO scientists have produced Australia’s first entirely home-grown carbon fiber, paving the way for Australian industry to mass-produce the next generation materials, used in everything from bicycles and tennis rackets to satellites and fighter planes. Australia’s first carbon fiber was produced using polyacrylonitrile fiber, spun on the joint CSIRO/Deakin University wet spinning line, then carbonized at Deakin’s “Carbon Nexus” facility. MORE
LeMond Composites, founded by three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, has licensed a low-cost, high-volume carbon fiber manufacturing process developed at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The agreement will make Oak Ridge-based LeMond Composites the first company to offer carbon fiber produced by the process to the transportation, renewable energy, and infrastructure markets. MORE
the core company of the Teijin Group’s carbon fibers and composites business, has developed a new grade carbon fiber— TENAX XMS32—that achieves both high-intensity and high-tensile modulus required for aircraft and automotive applications. Toho Tenax developed its new grade carbon fiber with a uniform structure by optimizing the structural design of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based precursor and by optimizing its manufacturing process. Toho Tenax Co., MORE
The first prototype carbon fiber MonoCell, the tub that forms the main structure of McLaren’s cars, has been shipped from the company’s new £50-million (US$66-million) innovation and production center in Yorkshire to the McLaren Production center (MPC) in Woking, Surrey. First prototype carbon fibre chassis delivered from the MCTC. Carbon fiber has long been part of McLaren’s toolkit, the company having first introduced the material into Formula 1 in the early 1980s. MORE
Magna Exteriors, an operating unit of Magna International, has been awarded new business to supply painted automotive body panels made from carbon fiber composite material for two 2016 model-year vehicles. Magna Exteriors has successfully advanced its capabilities to now produce class-A carbon fiber composite body panels at the production rates needed for the automotive industry. MORE
The BMW Group and Boeing signed a collaboration agreement to participate in joint research for carbon fiber recycling as well as share carbon fiber manufacturing process simulations and ideas for manufacturing automation. Both the BMW Group and Boeing are pioneering the use of carbon fiber in their products. This collaboration agreement is a very important step forward in developing the use and end use of carbon fiber materials. MORE
Teijin Limited will establish a new carbon-fiber production facility in Greenwood, South Carolina, and will also form Teijin Carbon Fibers, Inc. TCF is expected to be incorporated this December and begin operating the new carbon-fiber production facility by the end of FY 2020. Total investment for the new carbon fiber production facility in the US and precursor capacity expansion in Japan will amount to JPY 35 billion, or approximately US$320 million. MORE
million for two projects that aim to advance the production of cost-competitive, high-performance carbon fiber material from renewable, non-food-based feedstocks, such as agricultural residues and woody biomass. Carbon fiber can lower the cost and improve performance of fuel-efficient vehicles and renewable energy components such as wind turbine blades. The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award up to $11.3 MORE
SGL Group has inaugurated the production line for carbon-fiber precursor at its FISIPE site in Lavradio, near Lisbon in Portugal. Precursor is a polymer-based fiber which is used as the main raw material for the production of carbon fibers. The carbon fibers will then be used in various applications in the automotive, aerospace, as well as in other industries. MORE
Carbon fiber You probably don''t think about your car''s wheels that much, but to state the exceedingly obvious they''re an essential part of every car. They''re also surprisingly heavy, as you''ll know if you''ve ever rotated your tires or had to change to a spare at the side of the road. Heaviness is a quality undesirable for fuel efficiency. MORE
Department of Energy (DOE) grant to continue their research in developing low-cost, high-strength carbon fiber. The center’s Carbon Materials Technologies Group received the award for a project titled “Precursor Processing Development for Low Cost, High Strength Carbon Fiber for Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel Applications.” The center is home to the largest carbon fiber spinline at any university in North America. MORE
While its light weight helps raise fuel economy in vehicles, carbon fiber has its critics. Recently, BMW defended the carbon footprint of carbon fiber in a recent WardsAuto article. An often-long supply chain has led some to question the material''s environmental benefit. MORE: 2014 BMW i3: First Drive Of BMW''s Radical New Electric Car The German MORE
US bespoke carbon fiber workshop Vitesse AuDessus has introduced a line of one-piece, full carbon-fiber wheels. Vitesse AuDessus’s new wheels use prepreg carbon fiber fabric that is hand-laid and autoclave-cured in CNC-milled aluminum moulds, a process shared by Formula 1 race teams and Sweden-based supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg. Typical lead time for the company’s one-piece, full carbon fiber wheels is 3-4 weeks. MORE
Today, acrylonitrile is used in the production of acrylic fibers for carpets, clothes, and fabrics, and in plastics such as food containers, and packaging materials. Most importantly for this project, acrylonitrile is also the primary building block in carbon fiber composites, which are used for lightweighting applications in automotive and air transportation. MORE
PD Glasseiden, a Germany-based producer of fiberglass; European Carbon Fiber GmbH; and the ForschungsCampus Open Hybrid LabFactory e.V., established under the auspices of the Lower Saxony Research Centre for Vehicle Technology at the TU Braunschweig and Volkswagen AG have formed a joint venture— CarboSax GmbH —to pursue developing, manufacturing and distributing more sustainable carbon fibers in Germany. MORE
At the Composites Europe event in Dusseldorf, Ford Motor Company displayed a prototype carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) hood. As a result of progress made during an on-going Hightech.NRW research project involving engineers from the Ford European Research Centre, production time for an individual carbon fiber hood is fast enough to be employed on a production line—a significant step towards increased usage of lightweight materials in Ford vehicles. MORE
in cooperation with Ford Motor Company, developed a prototype carbon fiber composite subframe which reduces mass by 34% compared to making a stamped steel equivalent. The carbon fiber subframe is the result of a research and development project between Magna and Ford to investigate potential mass-reduction benefits and technical challenges of using carbon fiber-reinforced composites in chassis applications. MORE
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) ( DE-FOA-0000975 ) regarding the state of technology development and commercial readiness of emerging renewable carbon fiber (RCF) technologies. While carbon fibers are manufactured commercially using petroleum-derived acrylonitrile (ACN), there are emerging technology pathways to biomass-derived acrylonitrile (bio-ACN) that may offer a cost competitive and potentially high performance alternative. MORE
Batteries future Carbon Fiber researchAutomakers seem to be in agreement that the ‘skateboard’ location for heavy battery packs—low and wide beneath the passenger floor—is the ideal layout for electric vehicles. Decades from now that might not be the case. Researchers in Sweden have examined the possibility of using the vehicle shell as a battery casing. MORE
Toray Industries concluded an agreement with Lilium GmbH to supply carbon fiber composite materials for the Lilium Jet. The aircraft’s primary structures, such as the fuselage, wings and flaps will all be made from carbon fiber. Carbon fiber composite materials are needed to lighten such vehicles as the Lilium Jet. Its fuselage, wings, rotor vanes, and other structural components will employ carbon fiber composite materials. MORE
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have become the first to 3D-print aerospace-grade carbon fiber composites, opening the door to greater control and optimization of the lightweight, yet stronger than steel material. The research, published by the journal Nature Scientific Reports , represents a “significant advance” in the development of micro-extrusion 3D printing techniques for carbon fiber, the authors said. MORE
Carbon fiber now appears poised to enter the mainstream of automotive materials, but a less high-tech material could be waiting in the wings as well. Bamboo could be the next carbon fiber, according to a new article on BBC Autos (only visible in U.S., apparently). Surfboard manufacturer Gary Young uses bamboo in his boards already, and he told the MORE
When it comes to materials with the most promise in automotive applications, carbon fiber and graphene each rank high on the list. Unlike graphene, however, real-world carbon fiber applications exist today—and they're helping automakers reduce the weight of cars coming tomorrow. Manufacturing Carbon Fiber research and development materials weight reduction Lightweight MORE
To source the new lightweight track-capable carbon fiber wheels that are standard on the new Shelby GT350R Mustang, Ford partnered with Australia-based Carbon Revolution. Carbon Revolution first began delivering composite wheels in 2004 for Formula SAE campaigns. The one-piece carbon fiber wheels for the Mustang weigh nearly half that of an equivalent aluminum wheel (18 pounds versus 33 pounds), and handling and acceleration performance see serious benefits. MORE
Driven by a faster-than-expected pace of technology development, carbon-fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) will be poised to gain widespread adoption for automotive lightweighting by 2025, according to a new report from Lux Research, “Scaling Up Carbon Fiber: Roadmap to Automotive Adoption.”. Advances already underway in fiber, resin and composite part production will lead to a $6 billion market for automotive CFRPs in 2020, more than double Lux’s earlier projection. MORE
This approach should speed the development of more economical carbon fiber materials. Fiber orientation prediction in 3D complex part using the Autodesk software (Left) that was imported into the 3D ABAQUS model (Right) for stiffness performance prediction using the PNNL-developed Eshelby-Mori-Tanaka Approach to Non-Linear Analysis (EMTA-NLA) model in ABAQUS. While stronger and lighter than steel, carbon fiber composites are relatively expensive. MORE
The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award ( DE-FOA-0000996 ) up to $12 million in funding to advance the development of a cost-competitive pathway to produce high-performance carbon fiber for vehicle lightweighting from renewable non-food biomass. Carbon fiber composites are lightweight, yet strong, materials that can greatly improve vehicle fuel efficiency when incorporated into structural and non-structural components. MORE
Tokyo Motor Show Carbon Fiber Gordon Murray Gordon Murray Design YamahaWhen it comes to car design, Gordon Murray has had a highly varied career. He designed the McLaren F1 supercar, as well as the lightweight Rocket single-seat sports car and numerous race cars. Throughout his career, Murray has always emphasized lightweight construction in his designs, and his latest work is no different. DON'T MISS: Tokyo Motor. MORE
Danish start-up ECOmove has developed a technology which it says makes it possible to manufacture a carbon-fiber chassis without using special equipment. We design, construct and manufacture lightweight-chassis in composite materials—as for example carbon-fiber—at our Vehicle Lab in Vitus Bering Innovation Park in Horsens—all without using expensive tooling and special equipment. ECOmove calls its carbon-fiber technology Qstrung. MORE
A team at Sun Yat-sen University in China has developed new high-performance, stable cathode for Li-S batteries consisting of a 3D activated carbon fiber matrix (ACFC) and sulfur. For the composite cathodes with 3D conductive framework, however, the continuous carbon fibers act as high-speed electron pathway. A commercial foldable activated carbon fiber cloth (ACFC) was used as cathode matrix. MORE
Carbon fibers have already beeen demonstrated as high-capacity Li-ion battery anodes, opening the way for their use as structural electrodes—i.e., The researchers studied the microstructure of different types of commercially available carbon fibers. MORE
BMW MegaCity Urban Electric Car To Be Built of Carbon Fiber. First, the raw feedstock to make carbon fibers–just call it a “polacrylonitrile-based precursor&# –is made in Japan by a joint venture between SGL and Mitsubishi Rayon and flown to the U.S. The actual carbon fibers themselves are fabricated at Moses Lake, after which they’re flown to Germany, where they’re processed into lightweight fabrics in Wackersdorf. MORE
SGL Carbon SE is acquiring BMW Group’s 49% equity investment in the joint ventures SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers GmbH & Co. KG (Germany) and SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers LLC (US)—together referred to as SGL ACF. Carbon fibers and carbon fiber materials are at the core of SGL Group's corporate strategy. shareholding in SGL Carbon SE. In the first step, SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers GmbH & Co. MORE
Carbon fiber is still a fairly exotic material in the automotive industry, but it is likely to become more common--and perhaps faster than expected. BMW said last Friday that it will triple production of carbon fiber at its facility in Moses Lake, Washington, to use in its carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) body shells. MORE
A production line for carbon fiber takes the PAN precursor through two stages (stabilization/oxidation and carbonization) and then to winding. Due to the high demand for carbon fiber in automotive production, SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers , a joint venture between the BMW Group and the SGL Group, will triple the capacity of the carbon fiber plant in Moses Lake, Washington. 3,000 tons of carbon fiber. MORE
Carbon Fiber Related Topics Green Car Reports
JANUARY 17, 2018
When it comes to materials with the most promise in automotive applications, carbon fiber and graphene each rank high on the list. Unlike graphene, however, real-world carbon fiber applications exist today—and they're helping automakers reduce the weight of cars coming tomorrow. Manufacturing Carbon Fiber research and development materials weight reduction Lightweight
Green Car Reports
OCTOBER 25, 2018
Batteries future Carbon Fiber researchAutomakers seem to be in agreement that the ‘skateboard’ location for heavy battery packs—low and wide beneath the passenger floor—is the ideal layout for electric vehicles. Decades from now that might not be the case. Researchers in Sweden have examined the possibility of using the vehicle shell as a battery casing.
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Green Car Reports
OCTOBER 30, 2015
Tokyo Motor Show Carbon Fiber Gordon Murray Gordon Murray Design YamahaWhen it comes to car design, Gordon Murray has had a highly varied career. He designed the McLaren F1 supercar, as well as the lightweight Rocket single-seat sports car and numerous race cars. Throughout his career, Murray has always emphasized lightweight construction in his designs, and his latest work is no different. DON'T MISS: Tokyo Motor.
Green Car Congress
JULY 26, 2020
Toray Industries concluded an agreement with Lilium GmbH to supply carbon fiber composite materials for the Lilium Jet. The aircraft’s primary structures, such as the fuselage, wings and flaps will all be made from carbon fiber. Carbon fiber composite materials are needed to lighten such vehicles as the Lilium Jet. Its fuselage, wings, rotor vanes, and other structural components will employ carbon fiber composite materials.
Green Car Congress
OCTOBER 18, 2018
Carbon fibers have already beeen demonstrated as high-capacity Li-ion battery anodes, opening the way for their use as structural electrodes—i.e., The researchers studied the microstructure of different types of commercially available carbon fibers.
Revenge of the Electric Car
APRIL 12, 2010
BMW MegaCity Urban Electric Car To Be Built of Carbon Fiber. First, the raw feedstock to make carbon fibers–just call it a “polacrylonitrile-based precursor&# –is made in Japan by a joint venture between SGL and Mitsubishi Rayon and flown to the U.S. The actual carbon fibers themselves are fabricated at Moses Lake, after which they’re flown to Germany, where they’re processed into lightweight fabrics in Wackersdorf.
Green Car Congress
DECEMBER 22, 2019
LeMond Carbon announced the results of an independent technical audit conducted by Bureau Veritas (BV) of its carbon fiber manufacturing process. The audit was conducted on a pilot line at Deakin University’s Carbon Nexus facility in Geelong, Australia.
Green Car Congress
MARCH 1, 2017
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have become the first to 3D-print aerospace-grade carbon fiber composites, opening the door to greater control and optimization of the lightweight, yet stronger than steel material. The research, published by the journal Nature Scientific Reports , represents a “significant advance” in the development of micro-extrusion 3D printing techniques for carbon fiber, the authors said.
Green Car Congress
JULY 22, 2020
Borealis, a supplier of polyolefin plastic materials for engineering applications in the automotive industry, announced the availability of Fibremod, its innovative carbon and glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (PP) technology, for the North American automotive market. Short-glass, long-glass and carbon fiber formulations are available, with customizable fiber content ratios, to enable manufacturers to balance strength, weight, and cost according to specific design needs.
Green Car Congress
MARCH 25, 2019
The first prototype carbon fiber MonoCell, the tub that forms the main structure of McLaren’s cars, has been shipped from the company’s new £50-million (US$66-million) innovation and production center in Yorkshire to the McLaren Production center (MPC) in Woking, Surrey. First prototype carbon fibre chassis delivered from the MCTC. Carbon fiber has long been part of McLaren’s toolkit, the company having first introduced the material into Formula 1 in the early 1980s.
Green Car Congress
APRIL 24, 2020
The BMW Group has selected SGL Carbon to produce a cover component for battery enclosures. This substantial multi-year order will include the production of an innovative glass-fiber-based cover plate for the battery housing for usage in a future plug-in hybrid model of BMW Group. Composite materials m are suited for battery enclosures for different reasons—besides their light weight, which enhances the electric vehicle’s range, fiber-reinforced plastics offer high stiffness.
Green Car Congress
FEBRUARY 22, 2015
Driven by a faster-than-expected pace of technology development, carbon-fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) will be poised to gain widespread adoption for automotive lightweighting by 2025, according to a new report from Lux Research, “Scaling Up Carbon Fiber: Roadmap to Automotive Adoption.”. Advances already underway in fiber, resin and composite part production will lead to a $6 billion market for automotive CFRPs in 2020, more than double Lux’s earlier projection.
Green Car Congress
NOVEMBER 8, 2017
CSIRO scientists have produced Australia’s first entirely home-grown carbon fiber, paving the way for Australian industry to mass-produce the next generation materials, used in everything from bicycles and tennis rackets to satellites and fighter planes. Australia’s first carbon fiber was produced using polyacrylonitrile fiber, spun on the joint CSIRO/Deakin University wet spinning line, then carbonized at Deakin’s “Carbon Nexus” facility.
Green Car Congress
JULY 12, 2015
To source the new lightweight track-capable carbon fiber wheels that are standard on the new Shelby GT350R Mustang, Ford partnered with Australia-based Carbon Revolution. Carbon Revolution first began delivering composite wheels in 2004 for Formula SAE campaigns. The one-piece carbon fiber wheels for the Mustang weigh nearly half that of an equivalent aluminum wheel (18 pounds versus 33 pounds), and handling and acceleration performance see serious benefits.
Green Car Congress
OCTOBER 3, 2016
SGL Group has inaugurated the production line for carbon-fiber precursor at its FISIPE site in Lavradio, near Lisbon in Portugal. Precursor is a polymer-based fiber which is used as the main raw material for the production of carbon fibers. The carbon fibers will then be used in various applications in the automotive, aerospace, as well as in other industries.
Green Car Congress
JULY 28, 2015
US bespoke carbon fiber workshop Vitesse AuDessus has introduced a line of one-piece, full carbon-fiber wheels. Vitesse AuDessus’s new wheels use prepreg carbon fiber fabric that is hand-laid and autoclave-cured in CNC-milled aluminum moulds, a process shared by Formula 1 race teams and Sweden-based supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg. Typical lead time for the company’s one-piece, full carbon fiber wheels is 3-4 weeks.
Green Car Congress
APRIL 11, 2014
Danish start-up ECOmove has developed a technology which it says makes it possible to manufacture a carbon-fiber chassis without using special equipment. We design, construct and manufacture lightweight-chassis in composite materials—as for example carbon-fiber—at our Vehicle Lab in Vitus Bering Innovation Park in Horsens—all without using expensive tooling and special equipment. ECOmove calls its carbon-fiber technology Qstrung.
Green Car Congress
JULY 2, 2017
Department of Energy (DOE) grant to continue their research in developing low-cost, high-strength carbon fiber. The center’s Carbon Materials Technologies Group received the award for a project titled “Precursor Processing Development for Low Cost, High Strength Carbon Fiber for Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel Applications.” The center is home to the largest carbon fiber spinline at any university in North America.
Green Car Congress
MARCH 25, 2014
Magna Exteriors, an operating unit of Magna International, has been awarded new business to supply painted automotive body panels made from carbon fiber composite material for two 2016 model-year vehicles. Magna Exteriors has successfully advanced its capabilities to now produce class-A carbon fiber composite body panels at the production rates needed for the automotive industry.
Green Car Congress
MAY 9, 2014
A production line for carbon fiber takes the PAN precursor through two stages (stabilization/oxidation and carbonization) and then to winding. Due to the high demand for carbon fiber in automotive production, SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers , a joint venture between the BMW Group and the SGL Group, will triple the capacity of the carbon fiber plant in Moses Lake, Washington. 3,000 tons of carbon fiber.
Green Car Reports
SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
Carbon fiber You probably don''t think about your car''s wheels that much, but to state the exceedingly obvious they''re an essential part of every car. They''re also surprisingly heavy, as you''ll know if you''ve ever rotated your tires or had to change to a spare at the side of the road. Heaviness is a quality undesirable for fuel efficiency.
Green Car Congress
OCTOBER 13, 2016
PD Glasseiden, a Germany-based producer of fiberglass; European Carbon Fiber GmbH; and the ForschungsCampus Open Hybrid LabFactory e.V., established under the auspices of the Lower Saxony Research Centre for Vehicle Technology at the TU Braunschweig and Volkswagen AG have formed a joint venture— CarboSax GmbH —to pursue developing, manufacturing and distributing more sustainable carbon fibers in Germany.
Green Car Congress
DECEMBER 1, 2017
Teijin Limited will establish a new carbon-fiber production facility in Greenwood, South Carolina, and will also form Teijin Carbon Fibers, Inc. TCF is expected to be incorporated this December and begin operating the new carbon-fiber production facility by the end of FY 2020. Total investment for the new carbon fiber production facility in the US and precursor capacity expansion in Japan will amount to JPY 35 billion, or approximately US$320 million.
Green Car Congress
MARCH 14, 2017
in cooperation with Ford Motor Company, developed a prototype carbon fiber composite subframe which reduces mass by 34% compared to making a stamped steel equivalent. The carbon fiber subframe is the result of a research and development project between Magna and Ford to investigate potential mass-reduction benefits and technical challenges of using carbon fiber-reinforced composites in chassis applications.
Green Car Congress
OCTOBER 9, 2012
At the Composites Europe event in Dusseldorf, Ford Motor Company displayed a prototype carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) hood. As a result of progress made during an on-going Hightech.NRW research project involving engineers from the Ford European Research Centre, production time for an individual carbon fiber hood is fast enough to be employed on a production line—a significant step towards increased usage of lightweight materials in Ford vehicles.
Green Car Reports
MAY 14, 2014
Carbon fiber is still a fairly exotic material in the automotive industry, but it is likely to become more common--and perhaps faster than expected. BMW said last Friday that it will triple production of carbon fiber at its facility in Moses Lake, Washington, to use in its carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) body shells.
Green Car Congress
AUGUST 30, 2016
LeMond Composites, founded by three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, has licensed a low-cost, high-volume carbon fiber manufacturing process developed at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The agreement will make Oak Ridge-based LeMond Composites the first company to offer carbon fiber produced by the process to the transportation, renewable energy, and infrastructure markets.
Green Car Congress
DECEMBER 15, 2017
This approach should speed the development of more economical carbon fiber materials. Fiber orientation prediction in 3D complex part using the Autodesk software (Left) that was imported into the 3D ABAQUS model (Right) for stiffness performance prediction using the PNNL-developed Eshelby-Mori-Tanaka Approach to Non-Linear Analysis (EMTA-NLA) model in ABAQUS. While stronger and lighter than steel, carbon fiber composites are relatively expensive.
Green Car Congress
NOVEMBER 24, 2017
SGL Carbon SE is acquiring BMW Group’s 49% equity investment in the joint ventures SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers GmbH & Co. KG (Germany) and SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers LLC (US)—together referred to as SGL ACF. Carbon fibers and carbon fiber materials are at the core of SGL Group's corporate strategy. shareholding in SGL Carbon SE. In the first step, SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers GmbH & Co.
Green Car Congress
FEBRUARY 4, 2014
The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award ( DE-FOA-0000996 ) up to $12 million in funding to advance the development of a cost-competitive pathway to produce high-performance carbon fiber for vehicle lightweighting from renewable non-food biomass. Carbon fiber composites are lightweight, yet strong, materials that can greatly improve vehicle fuel efficiency when incorporated into structural and non-structural components.
Green Car Congress
DECEMBER 8, 2017
Today, acrylonitrile is used in the production of acrylic fibers for carpets, clothes, and fabrics, and in plastics such as food containers, and packaging materials. Most importantly for this project, acrylonitrile is also the primary building block in carbon fiber composites, which are used for lightweighting applications in automotive and air transportation.
Green Car Congress
SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
A team at Sun Yat-sen University in China has developed new high-performance, stable cathode for Li-S batteries consisting of a 3D activated carbon fiber matrix (ACFC) and sulfur. For the composite cathodes with 3D conductive framework, however, the continuous carbon fibers act as high-speed electron pathway. A commercial foldable activated carbon fiber cloth (ACFC) was used as cathode matrix.
Green Car Reports
OCTOBER 14, 2014
One case in point is carbon fiber, which is light and strong, but also expensive. Now, a research firm partially funded by BMW--which uses large amounts of carbon fiber in its i3 electric car and i8 plug-in hybrid--claims to be on the verge of slashing this material''s Lightweight materials can help improve fuel efficiency, but they also add cost.
Green Car Congress
DECEMBER 12, 2012
The BMW Group and Boeing signed a collaboration agreement to participate in joint research for carbon fiber recycling as well as share carbon fiber manufacturing process simulations and ideas for manufacturing automation. Both the BMW Group and Boeing are pioneering the use of carbon fiber in their products. This collaboration agreement is a very important step forward in developing the use and end use of carbon fiber materials.
Green Car Reports
MAY 27, 2014
Carbon fiber now appears poised to enter the mainstream of automotive materials, but a less high-tech material could be waiting in the wings as well. Bamboo could be the next carbon fiber, according to a new article on BBC Autos (only visible in U.S., apparently). Surfboard manufacturer Gary Young uses bamboo in his boards already, and he told the
Green Car Congress
AUGUST 18, 2016
This new IACMI project will address both of these critical areas through a fundamentally different approach to the manufacturing of carbon fiber composites versus those currently in use today. High cycle time for production of continuous carbon fiber thermoplastic composites increases costs. The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, IACMI , in partnership with DuPont Performance Materials, Fibrtec Inc.
Green Car Reports
MAY 26, 2014
While its light weight helps raise fuel economy in vehicles, carbon fiber has its critics. Recently, BMW defended the carbon footprint of carbon fiber in a recent WardsAuto article. An often-long supply chain has led some to question the material''s environmental benefit. MORE: 2014 BMW i3: First Drive Of BMW''s Radical New Electric Car The German
Green Car Congress
FEBRUARY 28, 2015
The carbon-fiber exoskeleton allows employees to sit without a chair. covered surfaces support the buttocks and thighs while two struts made of carbon?fiber?reinforced fiber?reinforced They now have significantly less physical stress due to the supportive carbon-fiber device, which allows them to alternate between sitting and standing while working.
Green Car Congress
JULY 14, 2015
the core company of the Teijin Group’s carbon fibers and composites business, has developed a new grade carbon fiber— TENAX XMS32—that achieves both high-intensity and high-tensile modulus required for aircraft and automotive applications. Toho Tenax developed its new grade carbon fiber with a uniform structure by optimizing the structural design of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based precursor and by optimizing its manufacturing process. Toho Tenax Co.,
Green Car Congress
JUNE 5, 2014
Woven carbon fiber can act as an electrode for lithium ion batteries. Researchers in Sweden are exploring the use of carbon fiber as an active electrode in a multifunctional structural Li-ion battery in an electric car; i.e., electrical storage is incorporated into the body of the car. 1 , several grades of commercially-available polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers displayed a reversible capacity close to or above 100 mAh g ?1
Green Car Congress
JULY 30, 2014
million for two projects that aim to advance the production of cost-competitive, high-performance carbon fiber material from renewable, non-food-based feedstocks, such as agricultural residues and woody biomass. Carbon fiber can lower the cost and improve performance of fuel-efficient vehicles and renewable energy components such as wind turbine blades. The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award up to $11.3
Green Car Congress
AUGUST 22, 2013
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) ( DE-FOA-0000975 ) regarding the state of technology development and commercial readiness of emerging renewable carbon fiber (RCF) technologies. While carbon fibers are manufactured commercially using petroleum-derived acrylonitrile (ACN), there are emerging technology pathways to biomass-derived acrylonitrile (bio-ACN) that may offer a cost competitive and potentially high performance alternative.
Green Car Congress
APRIL 17, 2015
Ford and DowAksa signed a joint development agreement (JDA) formally to advance research on cost-effective, high-volume manufacturing of automotive-grade carbon fiber, a material poised to play a significant role in the drive to make vehicles lighter. will combine DowAksa’s feedstock capacity, carbon fiber conversion and downstream intermediates production capabilities with Ford’s expertise in design, engineering and high-volume manufacturing.
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