Australian research group launches carbon fiber manufacturing
CSIRO has begun manufacture of Australia’s first carbon fiber sourced entirely from materials produced in the country. Fiber quality is automotive grade, but the organization has its sights set on aerospace grade material.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Canberra, Australia) says its scientists have produced Australia’s first entirely homegrown carbon fiber, paving the way for Australian industry to mass-produce the material.
Australia’s first carbon fiber was produced using polyacrylonitrile fiber, spun on the joint CSIRO/Deakin University wet spinning line, then carbonized at Deakin’s Carbon Nexus facility.
“From wind turbines to aerospace, even the latest Mustang wheels, a carbon fiber industry signals the kind of reinvention needed across Australian industry, shifting our focus from raw exports to high-value products to retain our global competitive advantage,” says Dr. Larry Marshall, chief executive of CSIRO. “This is another chapter in the innovation history of Geelong, where Australia’s first carbon fiber was created from scratch using CSIRO-produced white fiber. It’s a major leap forward in turning the region into an international carbon fiber hub.”
“We want to unlock carbon fiber’s full potential. On our first attempt, we created car-quality carbon fiber – we now expect to improve on that result and produce aerospace-standard carbon fiber,” says CSIRO research director Dr. John Tsanaktsidis.
“CSIRO’s Advanced Manufacturing Roadmap, released in November 2016, called on Australian industry to play to its strengths by focusing on high-value advanced manufacturing. Creating a future industry based on carbon fiber is an excellent example of bringing that to life.”
Related Content
-
Forvia brand Faurecia exhibits XL CGH2 tank, cryogenic LH2 storage solution for heavy-duty trucks
Part of its full hydrogen solutions portfolio at IAA Transportation 2022, Faurecia also highlighted sustainable thermoplastic tanks and smart tanks for better safety via structural integrity monitoring.
-
Moving toward next-generation wind blade recycling
Suppliers, fabricators and OEMs across the composite wind blade supply chain ramp up existing technologies, develop better reclamation methods and design more recyclable wind blades.
-
Plant tour: ÉireComposites, Galway, Ireland
An in-house testing business and R&D focus has led to innovative materials use and projects in a range of markets, from civil aerospace to renewable energy to marine.