LeMond Carbon (Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA) announced on December 12 the results of an independent technical review conducted by Bureau Veritas (BV, France, France) on its rapid oxidation carbon fiber manufacturing process. The audit was conducted on the test line of Deakin University ’s Carbon Nexus facility in Geelong, Australia. LeMond said that the total oxidation time and material properties verified by BV proved LeMond's claim that compared with traditional carbon fiber manufacturing technology, the cost is lower and the output is greatly improved.
Bureau Veritas provides laboratory testing, inspection and certification services, and audits innovative technologies and manufacturing processes. In order to review LeMond's technology, BV measured the total oxidation time of less than 15 minutes and less than 20 minutes in two separate 24K standard modulus (SM) carbon fiber production activities, resulting in more than 270 GPa tensile die And the tensile strength of the fiber bundle performance of 3500 MPa (see table).
The BV audit was conducted on Carbon Nexus' 100-ton (nameplate) test production line, which is currently producing samples for LeMond's target customers to test in several industrial markets that use standard modulus carbon fiber. In addition to accurately measuring oxidation time and ensuring process traceability, BV also supervises fiber sampling, packaging and shipping audit samples for testing at the BV laboratory in Pessac, France. LeMond fiber composite tow testing is done in accordance with ASTM D 4018-17.
LeMond and Deakin University have collaborated to commercialize this rapid oxidation technology, which can reduce capital expenditures and energy consumption per kilogram of output by 75% and 70%, respectively. LeMond said the rapid oxidation process allows the company to produce carbon fibers with the lowest energy content of all standard PAN-based carbon fibers on the market today.
"For our company, this is an important milestone. Independent verification of our technology by BV can prove the revolutionary nature of our technology." Said Greg LeMond, founder and chairman of LeMond Carbon. "My team and I are very pleased to bring our high-performance, low-cost carbon fiber to the global market and look forward to expanding into new markets in which the current high cost of carbon fiber has become a major obstacle to its popularity."
"Diken (University) has always been excited about the potential of our patented new technology, and it is encouraging to obtain independent verification of the scale of our technology effectively. We hope that in LeMond will be low cost and low emission Carbon fiber continues to provide support when it is commercialized. "Carbon Nexus director Derek Buckmaster said.
It turns out that LeMond has the ability to successfully produce competitive standard modulus carbon fiber, so a new fundraising campaign was launched to develop a 5,400 metric ton (nameplate) production facility at Oak Ridge (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) . To date, parent company LeMond Companies LLC has raised approximately $ 18.6 million in seed funding from individual and institutional investors including Deakin University.
LeMond Carbon Inc. was established in 2016 and is commercializing carbon fiber manufacturing technology under a 20-year global license issued by Deakin University under Deakin University. Currently, the company is operating a pilot-scale carbon fiber production line at Deakin University's Carbon Nexus plant in Geelong, Australia. After it is expected to start operations in 2021, LeMond Carbon intends to produce and sell carbon fiber composite products to the wind energy, aerospace, oil and gas, and automotive industries.