The American Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation Institute (IACMI) announced a project to close the cycle of automotive carbon fiber prepreg production waste for use in new automotive applications.
The project is led by Vartega, a startup focused on carbon fiber recycling. Project partners include Michelman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Colorado University of Mines, University of Dayton Research Laboratory, and University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Ford, BASF and Plasan Carbon Composites provided additional support for the project.
The challenge of this two-year technical collaboration is to create recycled carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics of consistent quality for use in lightweight automotive parts. Through the use of innovative new technologies, the project team will characterize and validate materials to meet the automotive industry ’s growing demand for low-cost carbon fiber to reduce vehicle weight, improve fuel economy and emissions, and extend the range of electric vehicles. demand.
"In the past 10 years, carbon fiber recycling technology has become more mature, but there are still some challenges in producing materials at the scale required by automobiles. We recognize the need to take a holistic approach to create a supply chain that recycles carbon fiber." Said Vartega CEO Andrew Maxey "In cooperation with the project team, we will be able to demonstrate the feasibility of recycled carbon fiber with optimized slurry in a circular economy and use it in the commercial-scale thermoplastic processing of the automotive industry."
"IACMI's commitment to the recycling of composite materials and its ability to connect small and medium-sized enterprises with large enterprises and promote project development are the genes of our institute." IACMI CEO John Hopkins said, "The project is the entire supply chain. A good example of the manufacturers that are united and working together to address technical and business challenges. "
In addition to its efforts on the IACMI project, Vartega also plans to install its first commercial recycling system in a scalable research facility ("SURF") located in the Corktown area of Detroit, USA. SURF is half a mile from Michigan Central Station and was recently acquired by Ford Motor Company as the center of Ford's new Corktown campus.