"Light weighting is the final frontier in the automotive industry fight to lower emissions."

[Z4ever]

Coincidentally or not, the carbon fiber composite supplier for both Airbus and Alfa Romeo is the same: TenCate Advanced Composite!


TenCate Cetex® thermoplastic composites featured on Airbus A350 XWB

"TenCate Advanced Composites, a leading global composite materials company for aerospace applications, is a key supplier of thermoplastic composite materials for the Airbus A350 XWB, which completed a significant milestone event today with the first commercial delivery to Qatar Airways.

TenCate Cetex® thermoplastic composite materials are used for the production of an array of components on the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, specifically high volume components within the carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic (CFRT) fuselage. These thermoplastic composite materials offer weight reduction along with high strength and durability properties. TenCate Advanced Composites work with leading suppliers within the aerospace industry for structural, semi structural and interior applications on programmes across the Airbus Group, such as the Airbus A350 XWB and previously launched Airbus A380.

Frank Meurs, group director of TenCate Advanced Composites says: “We are very pleased to be a supplier on the A350 XWB programme, and congratulate Airbus on the first delivery. It is an aircraft that demonstrates thermoplastic composite materials and their increased use in the future of aviation structures”"



TenCate and Adler Group sign exclusive supply agreement for Alfa Romeo 4C platform

"Following the joint development between TenCate Advanced Composites and the Adler Group with regard to the Alfa Romeo 4C chassis, an exclusive supply agreement has been reached for the use of carbon fibre composite prepreg material. This advanced material is being used for the production of the entire monocoque. The central passenger cell reduces vehicle weight and creates a highly rigid and safe basic structure.

This agreement encapsulates the relationship which began at the inception of this automotive project and sees the E700 series carbon fibre prepreg from the TenCate Advanced Composites manufacturing facility in Langley Mill (Nottingham), UK being used by the Adler Group in Ottaviano (Naples), Italy. Mr. Frank Meurs, group director of TenCate Advanced Composites EMEA, states: “This innovative project with the Adler Group is a major breakthrough for TenCate, as it is the first OEM project of this size in the automotive industry and is seen as a high profile application”. Mr. Paolo Scudieri, President of the Adler Group, comments: “We are proud of this partnership with TenCate and are sure that this agreement will lead to important technological developments as well as efficiencies in logistics, both of which will make the product even more competitive”.

Optimised logistics
The support provided by TenCate to Adler has continued beyond the development phase of the project, with sales of Alfa Romeo forecast to reach up to three thousand cars per year. The two parties have agreed that an investment will be made to enable local production of the composite material, in order to optimise the logistic process and comply with "just in time" requirements needed for this important Alfa Romeo automotive programme. In addition, TenCate and Adler will work jointly on innovations for new automotive-related projects.""

 

[Z4ever]

BMW and VW, on the other hand, have choosen to be part of the SGL Carbon SE as their 'carbon fiber strategy':


"Being the only European manufacturer of integrated carbon fibers SGL Group strengthens its technological base by completing the added value chain from raw materials to carbon fibers to composite materials. Carbon fiber-based materials combine several unique properties such as high mechanical strength with low weight, very good electrical and thermal conductivity as well as heat and corrosion resistance."

....................... Shareholdings..........................
SKion GmbH........ 27.46%.......... October 15, 2014
BMW AG.............. 18.44%.......... October 15, 2014
Volkswagen AG..... 9.88%........... July 31, 2015

Furthermore, and based on the respective voting rights announcements we received, Voith GmbH, Heidenheim, holds currently more than 5% of the voting rights of SGL Carbon SE.

 

[Z4ever]

Mercedes-Benz, in turn, established a joint venture with Toray in 2011 for manufacturing and marketing of carbon-fiber based automobile parts - Euro Advanced Carbon Fiber Composites GmbH. Toray held 50.1%, Daimler 44.9%, and others, 5%. As of 2014, however, the Stuttgart carmaker Daimler AG sold the majority of its shares in the joint venture Euro Advanced Carbon Fiber Composites GmbH (EACC) to its Japanese partner Toray Industries, Inc.. Daimler did not disclose how much of the remaining percentage, which originally stood at 44.9%, is still in their hands - it should be above the 5% mark.


September 7, 2012

"Toray Industries Inc., the world’s largest producer of carbon fiber, plans to increase capacity as customers from Daimler AG to Boeing Co. boost the use of the lightweight material to make fuel-efficient cars and planes.

Capacity at the end of the decade may double from a targeted level of 27,100 metric tons a year in 2015, Moriyuki Onishi, senior vice president and head of the carbon-fiber composites division, said in an interview.

Toray expects sales of carbon-fiber composite materials to increase 29 percent to 90 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in the financial year ending March 2013, or 5 percent of its estimated 1.7 trillion yen revenue, according to an Aug. 6 statement. The company and rival Teijin Ltd. forged partnerships with Daimler and General Motors Co., respectively, to develop and produce carbon-fiber parts for cars.

“Carbon fiber has big potential as automakers look into a variety of materials,” Onishi said in the interview on Sept. 5 in Tokyo, where Toray is based. “We’re trying to bring costs down and speed production through technology development.”

Ramp-up plans for Boeing’s 787, the first aircraft built with carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, and the launch of Airbus SAS’ A350 wide-body aircraft will enable Toray to boost aviation sales almost four times to 100 billion yen a year by the end of this decade, Onishi said.

The 787 Dreamliner, designed to be 20 percent more fuel efficient, uses lightweight composites for half of its structure, a departure from traditional reliance on aluminum. The A350 will compete with Boeing’s 787 and 777 long-range aircraft.

Capacity Expansion

Toray shares gained 3.7 percent, the most since Aug. 6, to close at 477 yen in Tokyo, paring their decline this year to 13 percent. Toray is the top producer of the material in the 40,000 ton-a-year global market, Onishi said.

The company said in March it would invest 45 billion yen to boost global carbon fiber output capacity 50 percent to 27,100 tons by 2015 as it builds its first plant in South Korea and expands plants and facilities in Japan, the U.S. and France.

Carbon fiber is about 10 times stronger and 75 percent lighter than steel, Toray said in a presentation. The cost of carbon fiber ranges from 2,000 yen to 5,000 yen a kilogram (2.2 pounds), according to Takato Watabe, a Tokyo-based analyst at Deutsche Securities Inc. Nippon Steel Corp., Japan’s biggest maker of the alloy, sold products for 800 yen a kilogram in the last quarter.

Luxury Cars

Toray’s carbon-fiber parts, including roofs and bonnets, are used in luxury sports cars including Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus LFA, the Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen AG’s Lamborghini. While the current carbon-fiber market is limited to 5,000 supercars, it may expand to 5 million vehicles by 2020, according to a company presentation this month.

Teijin, the second-largest carbon-fiber maker, is working with GM to develop carbon-fiber composites using a new technology that cuts molding time to enable mass production.

Osaka-based Teijin said in December it plans to supply carbon-fiber parts to 1 million cars a year by 2020 and expects automotive sales from the new technology of as much as 200 billion yen a year.

Steelmakers, facing competition from producers of materials, including carbon fiber and aluminum, say the alloy will remain suitable for vehicles in the future.

WorldAutoSteel, the automotive group of the World Steel Association, including Nippon Steel, Posco and ArcelorMittal, said last year next-generation eco cars built with steel would be 35 percent lighter than gasoline-powered vehicles and cut total lifecycle carbon-dioxide emissions by about 70 percent, appealing to the auto industry."

 

[Z4ever]

"Production is expected to begin in the latter half of 2016, with the coupe launching some time in 2017.

The new TVR coupe will be built around a spaceframe chassis with a non-structural body, which can be constructed from carbon fibre using Gordon Murray's iStream carbon production process.

For the first run of limited-edition models a carbon-fibre body will be offered as a no-cost option - a reward for those laying down the first deposits for TVR's new car."

 

[Rolf]

I am glad to see TVR making a comeback, they were brutal and certainly macho cars.

 

[Z4ever]

Just a quick updated to further help putting things into perspective:

After almost 6 months of Alfa 4C's ownership I can say that with the cruise control set to a speed of 160 km/h, the Alfa Romeo 4C consistently shows an average fuel consumption of 10 liter/100 km (w/ 98 RON gasoline) whereas my former BMW 1M over the exact same course was capable of the same fuel consumption but at a much slower speed - 120 km/h.

'Nough said?!

 

[Z4ever]

Since the Alfa's fuel tank capacity is only 40 liters, it means that the 4C autonomy is 400 km at a constant speed of 160 km/h!!!

So, here's a challenge for you:

1) Show me a Tesla that can run 400 km at a constant speed of 160 km/h without draining out its batteries long before it completes the distance;

2) Show me a car with the 4C's performance or higher - you can take the Hockenheim Short and the Nurburgring lap times as reference - which is able to deliver a fuel consumption of 10 liter/100 km at 160 km/h.

I may be missing something, so a little help from you would be grateful!

 

[Z4ever]

Let's give it a proper perspective though:

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[Z4ever]

It just proves how ludicrously lightweight the Alfa 4C is!

 

[Rolf]

Wow that Tesla is quick with capital F.