On March 20, 2019, the first prototype of a carbon fiber body full-power hydrogen-powered passenger car being developed by Wuhan Grove Hydrogen Automobile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Grove") was launched in Wuhan. This car was built by the Grove brand for the Chinese market. It is positioned as a large luxury SUV, and it is the first to realize the scale application of hydrogen fuel cells and full carbon fiber composite body technology in cars, with lighter weight and lower energy consumption. With a cruising range of more than 1,000 kilometers, many advanced technologies are second to none, and it has achieved a major breakthrough in the hydrogen industry's first application in the transportation field.
It is worth mentioning that the car's carbon fiber body was born in the Kant Composite Materials Industry 4.0 smart manufacturing plant. As an important partner of Grove, Kant has provided a full set of carbon fiber lightweight solutions for the car, including pre-design, research and development, trial production and mass production in the later stage. Compared with the traditional steel plate body, the vehicle modal, bending stiffness, torsional rigidity and collision safety are significantly improved and the comfort is better. The carbon fiber body-in-white prototype takes only 3.5 months from design to delivery. Compared with the traditional steel plate body prototype, Time has been greatly reduced, and product development speed has increased significantly. The entire carbon fiber body-in-white body has 52 body structure parts and opening and closing parts with a weight of 160kg, which is 50% lighter than traditional cars. After Kant's composite material design and manufacturing team is developing in a platform, modular, and batch way, The first application of carbon fiber in the field of hydrogen fueled vehicles was achieved, filling a gap in the international automotive industry.
Hydrogen has the characteristics of rich reserves, clean efficiency, safety and environmental protection, and high heating value. It is a high-quality secondary energy source and is known as the ultimate energy source for human beings. Hydrogen fuel cells have a long cruising range, fast hydrogenation and only water emissions during driving, which is an important development direction for new energy vehicles. At present, the global hydrogen energy and fuel cell industry has just started. With the continuous breakthrough of hydrogen fuel cell technology, the transportation field has become an important breakthrough for its industrial development. In addition, compared with traditional vehicles using steel and aluminum alloys, carbon fiber cars are lighter and their body structures are lighter and stronger.
As early as when China's "Energy Conservation and New Energy Vehicle Technology Roadmap" was put forward, the key points have been drawn up: in 2030, the development goal of China's fuel cell vehicles is one million, and it is emphasized that the development of carbon fiber composite materials technology will focus on lightweight vehicles To achieve a wide range of applications of carbon fiber composite material mixed body and carbon fiber components, the total vehicle weight is reduced by 35%, and the use of carbon fiber accounts for 5% of the vehicle body, so as to promote the decarbonization and diversification of China's automotive fuel and reduce dependence on petroleum. It can be seen that "hydrogen fuel" is becoming the ultimate solution for the development of new energy vehicles in the future, and "carbon fiber" is becoming the ultimate choice for lightweight vehicles and ensuring the storage and transportation of hydrogen energy. The lightest gas, hydrogen energy, and the perfect combination of the best lightweight material, carbon fiber composite materials, are being given an important mission by the new energy vehicle industry.
The Grove brand is currently the only company in the industry dedicated to the large-scale production of hydrogen fuel cell hydrogen passenger cars, aiming to grow into the world's largest hydrogen fuel cell vehicle global leader in sales by 2025; Kant is committed to Provide carbon fiber lightweight solutions for global auto companies. With its upstream and downstream platform capabilities and strong carbon fiber large-scale manufacturing capabilities, it has conducted exchanges and cooperation with many OEMs at home and abroad, and completed the hoods of many models, Lightweight automotive carbon fiber composite materials for body structure parts such as fenders, trunk lids, doors, etc .; roof covers, top sills, side sills, middle aisles, body in white, seats, battery boxes, chassis and other body structural parts. The project involves the replacement of lightweight components for fuel vehicles, and lightweight solutions for new energy vehicles (including lithium battery vehicles and hydrogen fuel vehicles).
The Grove brand has currently planned a series of competitive models and production plans, and will be launched at the Shanghai Auto Show in April this year to accept customer reservations. Wuhan Zihuan Industrial Research Institute also started the construction of hydrogen energy infrastructure, which will be promoted in first-tier cities in China next year, and expanded to second-tier cities in 2021, and will be launched in large quantities in major cities in China in 2022. This time, the full carbon fiber hydrogen passenger car launched by Grove and KFC is the sincerity of the two companies to fulfill their corporate social responsibility and escort human green travel.
Facing the future, Kangde Compound will join hands with global auto companies to launch more mass-produced models using carbon fiber composite parts, helping China's new energy automotive composite lightweight technology enter a new era.