Mexican Media Brands
Researchers Pursue Lower Carbon Fiber Costs
Making a component of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) can reduce its weight compared to aluminum or steel by 33% and 50%, respectively.
#aluminum
Share
Making a component of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) can reduce its weight compared to aluminum or steel by 33% and 50%, respectively. But CFRP can cost as much as 17 times as much as aluminum and 45 times more than steel, notes SAE Engineering Online.
But a detailed analysis by Boston-based Lux Research Inc. predicts that overall demand for CRFP will jump anyway. It says the global market for such material is likely to surge to $36 billion by 2020 from $14.6 billion last year.
Demand, especially within the auto industry, will be heavily influenced by the cost of making the carbon fibers themselves, which accounts for about half the price of CRFP, Lux senior analyst Ross Kozarsky tells the newsletter.
High-grade carbon fibers are made by heating, stretching and carbonizing polyacrylonitrile (PAN) resin. But Kozarsky says the conversion process is only 50% efficient, and the resulting PAN fibers before they are molded into plastic parts cost about $21.50/kg.
Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and elsewhere are pursuing cheaper raw materials and new fiber-making processes. Kozarsky says that combining the two approaches should slash fiber costs at pilot-line volume to less than $11/kg by 2017.
RELATED CONTENT
-
On EV Sedans, Self-Driving Tech, 15-minute Cities and more
Will EVs save the sedan? Will anyone in the UK tell grandpa to give up the keys? What to do with broken windshields. And much more.
-
Visteon's common soft touch
Visteon has developed a process that aims to bridge the gap between luxury soft-touch instrument panels and the rock-hard plastics of the lower orders. It uses fewer parts, needs no custom equipment and is fully recyclable.
-
On BMW Tech, VW Golf R Variant, Hyundai Elantra, and More
The forthcoming BMW flagship SUV—the 2022 iX xDrive50—has a lot of tech, some that is deliberately discrete. The Hawaiians spend a lot of money for gasoline and it would be less if they’d electrify. Euro drivers like wagons—and apparently extreme driving in them. Stellantis is spending big on going electric. And even more.
