Voith Composites, V-Carbon to develop closed-loop solution for CFRP used in hydrogen tanks

On May 4, Voith Composites (Garching bei München, Germany) announced its intent to partner with V-Carbon (Bad Zurzach, Switzerland). The partnership will reportedly establish and deliver industry-leading innovation to achieve a sustainable and closed-loop solution for CFRP materials for hydrogen (H₂) systems.

V-Carbon is an advanced materials technology company, said to be developing the first fully integrated carbon fiber circular economy for use in the aerospace, automotive, wind energy and industrial sectors.

Voith Composites is a tank manufacturer for hydrogen storage and has recently brought to market the Carbon4Tank — a solution for hydrogen storage with the Voith Plug & Drive H₂ Storage System — providing Type 4 high-pressure hydrogen CFRP tanks based on 700-bar technology for heavy-duty commercial vehicles.

The partnership with V-Carbon will enable Voith Composites to obtain quality recycled carbon fiber and highly aligned structural materials for a second life in H₂ tank applications, as well as provide V-Carbon with high-performance CFRP waste from H₂ tank production and end-of-life (EOL) tanks.

“We are delighted to sign a Letter of Intent to partner with V-Carbon,” Anna Pointner, CEO at Voith Composites, says. Damian Cessario of V-Carbon agrees. “This partnership will help us reach our shared goals in sustainability by enabling a recycling capacity for H₂ tanks, which is a core objective at Voith Composites. We look forward to a long and prosperous partnership that will help us on our mission to protect our planet.”