The era of light-weight carbon fiber has become the "new favorite" of the automotive industry

Reuters reported on the 16th that German automaker BMW and auto carbon fiber producer SGL Carbon (SGL) plan to invest more than 100 million euros to increase the production of co-produced carbon fiber from 3,000 tons to 6,000 tons per year. Investment will enable BMW and SGL to increase their carbon fiber production in Germany and the United States to meet the growing market demand for BMW i-series electric vehicles, and will also be used in the BMW 7 Series which is expected to be available by the end of next year. To reduce the weight of new BMW vehicles and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Thanks to the above news, Germany's auto carbon fiber maker SGLCarbonSE (SGL.XE) rose by 12.24% to 30.71 euros on the 5th; Tokyo Toray (3402), listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, rose 26% to 709 in the past year. The Japanese yen, the worldâ€™s third-largest carbon fiber company, ZOLTEC, has risen 104.77% to US$16.75 in the past year. Analysts pointed out that as global auto companies, especially luxury car companies, are all optimistic about carbon fiber vehicles, it is expected that in the next 3-5 years will be a rapid development phase of carbon fiber, the relevant industry chain manufacturers profitable.

Carbon fiber has broad application prospects. <br Compared to steel, its strength is up to 10 times and its weight is only a quarter. As a composite industrial material that is sintered together with a resin, most of them are currently applied to aircraft fuselages. Insiders pointed out that if the material is used in the automotive industry, the fuel efficiency will increase by at least 40%, and because it greatly reduces the weight of the car, it can effectively reduce carbon dioxide emissions. It is a rare new environmental protection material.

Under normal circumstances, the body weight consumes about 70% of the fuel, so the first issue to reduce the car's fuel consumption is to reduce the weight of the car. Japan's Carbon Fiber Manufacturers Association once conducted a test on the life cycle of carbon fiber. The use of carbon fiber-reinforced vehicles has reduced the weight of their own vehicles. Not only has the efficiency of fuel applications been greatly improved, but also carbon dioxide emissions have been indirectly reduced.

SGLCarbon is the world's largest producer of carbon and graphite products and has an important strategic position in the supply of automotive parts. The company has a joint venture in Seattle, which produces carbon fiber. In November 2011, BMW acquired an 8.18% stake in SGLCarbon after acquiring 8.18% equity interest in SGLCarbon from its rival Volkswagen. In less than a month, BMW again increased its holding of SGLCarbon15.7. % of shares.

In December 2012, BMW announced that it will jointly develop carbon fiber technology with U.S. Boeing Airways for its respective automotive and aerospace manufacturing industries. In November 2013, the United States "Business Week" reported that BMW invested $100 million in Washington State to produce carbon fiber materials for the company's electric vehicles. The report shows that the carbon fiber materials invested by BMW can not only reduce the weight of the BMW electric vehicle, but also achieve the mileage that can be operated farther than in the past with one charge. The data show that BMW i3, which was listed in November last year, has attracted more than 11,000 orders, and the first orders for the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car to be launched in mid-year have also been sold out.

Carbon fiber demand for automobiles is expected to surge

At present, GM is working hard to use carbon fiber in production vehicles. According to statistics from the Toray Research Institute, the global market demand for carbon fiber is about 40,000 tons in 2011, and about 2000 tons of carbon fiber for automobiles. This figure will continue to expand from around 2015 and will reach tens of thousands of tons by 2020.

Sweden's Volvo has successfully developed a prototype based on the S80 that uses new power storage materials. This type of power storage material is made up of multiple layers of carbon fibers and a resin polymer. Each sandwich has a nanostructured battery and a capacitor. The supercapacitor plate replaces the combination of the hood and the torsion bar, so Volvo engineers can replace the 12-volt battery that powers the car's electronics while reducing the weight by half. At present, Volvo has used this new carbon fiber battery material in the hood of the car body as well as in the rear trunk lid. Compared with conventional electric vehicles, Volvo not only reduces the weight of the battery, but also enhances the rigidity of the car body.

In the Asian market, Japanâ€™s Toray, Toyota, and the University of Tokyo are already working together to develop a light-weight, high-strength carbon fiber vehicle and advance processing technology research. It is expected that as early as 2020, the weight will be reduced by 60% and the safety will be higher. The new energy vehicles will be fully put into practical use. According to Nikkei News, Japanâ€™s Toray Group spent nearly 70 billion yen in September last year and acquired Zoltek, the third-largest carbon fiber company in the world, and Toray has become the worldâ€™s largest supplier of carbon fiber. The company will increase its global product share to 30% and continue to ensure that its market share will dominate.

At present, the biggest drawback of carbon fiber is that the price is relatively expensive, which is several times to several dozen times that of iron, so the penetration rate is low. Toray's acquisition of Zoltek aims to open up the field of cheap carbon fiber. Under the leadership of Toray of Japan, the worldâ€™s second largest carbon fiber manufacturer, Teijin Japan, and the fourth largest manufacturer, Mitsubishi Rayon, have also begun to expand production capacity. Industry insiders believe that Japanese companies are expected to further expand their carbon materials industry in the next five years. Advantage. At present, Japan's Mitsubishi Rayon also plans to increase the equipment of US factories after 2014, increase its annual production capacity by 20% on the basis of the current approximately 10,000 tons, and will expand its supply to BMW, which is its main customer. Teijin cooperated with U.S. General Motors in the use of carbon fiber technology. It is expected that the company will build a new plant in the United States in 2014 and will supply carbon fiber to the company's production vehicles.

Industry insiders pointed out that the prospects for the application of carbon fiber composite materials in automobiles are expected to be promising, and the demand for vehicles will be expected to increase significantly, especially for luxury cars and ultra-luxury vehicle segments. At present, many foundry factories not only cooperate with Tier 1 suppliers, but also cooperate with carbon fiber manufacturers to manufacture usable components. Evonik developed carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) lightweight materials with Johnson Controls, Jacob Plastic, and Toho Tenax, and the Royal Dutch turf (TenCate) reached Toray Japan. Long-term supply agreement; Toray and Daimler (Daimler) reached a joint research and development agreement for the development of CFRP parts for Mercedes-Benz. As demand increases, major carbon fiber manufacturers are stepping up research and development, and carbon fiber composite material production technology will have new breakthroughs in the near future.

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