Discover the latest JEC Composites Magazine focused on Automotive
Over the past 10 years, the automotive industry has undergone a deep unprecedented transformation, and everyone keeps in mind the formula of Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors: “There are going to be more changes in our sector in the next 15 years than there have been in the last 100 years!” Dieselgate and diesel ban, Europe’s plans to give up internal combustion engines, whereas other major markets like the United States or China have plans to reduce emissions of air pollutants that induce it. In fact, electrification is completely reshaping the automotive panorama and its value chain.
E for “Electric” is just a letter of the acronym ACES that consulting agencies and some car manufacturers like BMW have put forward since the early 2010s. ACES stands for Automation, Connected, Electric and Shared. To date, the pace of driving automation is slower than expected, as is the pace of vehicle sharing, excluding public transport services. However, as Carlos Ghosn repeated over and over again in front of conservatives and sceptics, “These changes, this is not an option!”
This mutating sector could be seen as an opportunity for the composite materials industry. Of course, as electrification has considerably made vehicles heavier, making mass gains of a few kilos or hundreds of grams marginal, and considering the metal culture of the automotive industry, there is plenty to be discouraged about. However, with electrification, composites have become essential for certain components of the battery packs, all battery technologies combined, and this is significant. In addition, composites also are the priority solution for the tanks of the hydrogen electric vehicles (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles).
Hydrogen electric vehicles, which involve the production of green hydrogen to remain fully virtuous, and which were placed at the forefront of research programmes at the beginning of the century, are a perfect illustration of this. Now back in the spotlight, they represent a considerable market, particularly for so-called ‘heavy’ mobility.
Finally, history is yet to be written, and we come back to the challenges of weight control to reduce polluting emissions and aim for zero emissions.
Quick overview of the table of content:
News
- MVP partners with LestaUSA to bring robotic solutions to the composites industry
- Syensqo recalls strategic areas of development, including batteries for electric vehicles
Business
- “Pierre-Carbone blends high performance and environmental sustainability seamlessly”
- Trenchless rehabilitation: the underground opportunity for composites
- The Turkish composites market confirms its dynamism
Manufacturing
- From prototype to serial production: 3 megatrends for composite production in aviation
- Aeronautical composites: towards the industrialisation of production
Feature Automotive
- Chinese companies strive to build a composite automotive parts industry in Changzhou
- US automotive industry: race to make the composites case
- Promoting composites innovations in the automotive industry by an online application
- Continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites for lightweight car design
- Advancing CFRP circularity by innovating in the processing of recycled carbon fibres
- Zigy, leveraging advanced composites design for urban mobility
Solutions
- Medical composites industry
- Technical materials: why co-design is so important in creating innovative medical devices
- Hybrid polymer implant offers a new solution for sternum closure
- Composites at the Paralympic Games: performance, technical prowess and inclusivity
Technology
- Use of FRP rebars in reinforced concrete structures: overview of the French AFGC guidelines
- From past insights to future breakthroughs
- AML-UPAT promotes research and education in composite materials
Read the full edition, all the archives and the daily news: download the Magazine application!
Subscribe for free now and access the entire JEC Composites Magazine N°159.
Available in print, digital and via the mobile application.