Huntsman Advanced Materials has conducted a survey covering the use of composites in the automotive industry.
The survey involved conducting in-depth interviews across the world with more than 160 respondents, including automotive suppliers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and engineers, the company said.
The results reportedly show that CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency regulations are key drivers for the use of lighter weight materials, but affordability and the long-term availability of carbon fiber are preventing more manufacturers from using composites in mass production. According to respondents, fiber-reinforced composites will become more widely adopted by the premium and sports automotive sector over the next ten years and will likely reach mainstream car segments in the longer term. The development of electronic cars will also influence the use of composites, as manufacturers look to develop lightweight and more energy-efficient models.
‘Carrying out this survey was a key investment into understanding the dynamics of the automotive industry, and allowed us to gain valuable insights that can channel our innovation funnel towards technical solutions needed by the industry,’ said Nastassja Kelley, marketing director EMEAI, at Huntsman Advanced Materials. ‘Thanks to the detailed responses of our customers, we can better understand the drivers and challenges that they face in using composites. For example, according to the results, a lack of understanding around how best to design with composites is an important factor in fiber-reinforced plastic composites not reaching mass production scale.’
This story uses material from Huntsman, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
