Graphene is made of sheets of carbon just one atom thick and is significantly lighter than standard carbon fiber. It’s also stronger than carbon fiber and steel, meaning that it can bring weight reductions of around 20% in the automotive industry without hindering panel strength.
Briggs Automotive Company (BAC), Haydale and Pentaxia to develop lightweight composite materials using graphene and manufacture a novel carbon fiber composite tooling system with enhanced thermal conductivity – resulting in a new body panel system with improved mechanical and thermal performance.
The project aims to bring benefits in terms of weight reduction, CO2 emissions and manufacturing cycle times. Body panels will be installed and tested on the Mono supercar throughout the project, with the aim to reduce weight by 10% and cycles times by more than 25%.
A route to market will then be established for new material technology through niche vehicle manufacturers and the premium and luxury automotive sector – potentially resulting in a game-changing new material for the wider industry.
Source: https://polymer-additives.specialchem.com/news/industry-news/nvn-funding-graphene-reinforced-composites-000215881?lr=chal8d200918pa&li=200160570&utm_source=CHA&utm_medium=EML&utm_campaign=chal8d200918pa&m_i=bj_XkDtnLefSihjtaTkXVpT8AG1TNIMSSI1oJF8Aoh4RVvq_EZRu1yLSBnTdDRfIHRNZECI_3oZ2H2sPfQWTPicUI2IbbU