SGL Group, the leading manufacturer of carbon fibre products, is receiving funds of just under EUR 1 million from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for the development of a new type of customized carbon fibre for thermoplastic applications.

The research project linked to the funding, by the name of MAI CaFeE (Carbon Fiber with enhanced Elongation), was launched in April this year and will run until June 2017.

The goal of this research project is the development of a carbon fibre with significantly increased elongation and an optimized surface structure adapted to the existing sizing system.

Research and development

Developments of the MAI polymer project, one of SGL Group’s existing projects in the leading-edge cluster MAI Carbon, can be used as a basis for the MAI CaFeE project.

“We are very pleased about the funding. It shows again, that SGL Group’s research and development is addressing the important issues and questions in the field of carbon fibre based applications,” said Tilo Hauke, Head of Research at SGL Group.

Funding agreement

The total funding for this project of EUR 2.9 million has been allocated as part of the BMBF’s Leading-Edge Cluster funding programme, in which, as one of fifteen technology networks in the Germany-wide initiative, leading-edge cluster MAI Carbon (Munich, Augsburg and Ingolstadt) supports promising projects for the development of carbon fibre composites.

The funding agreement for SGL Group was recently delivered in person by the Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMBF, Stefan Müller, at the SGL site in Meitingen in the presence of Hansjörg Durz, the region’s current member of the German Bundestag.

Collaboration with University of Augsburg and BMW Group

The MAI CaFeE research project under the management of SGL Group is also being promoted by the two project partners, the University of Augsburg and the BMW Group.

The Chair for Experimental Physics II at the University of Augsburg will assist in analyzing the structure and properties of the new fibre as it is being developed by SGL Group. To guarantee a timely test in a surrounding close to the final application, the newly developed carbon fibre will be tested by the BMW Group.

Thermoplastics in application and processing

Thermoplastic fibre composites as a new type of material class are said to offer several new opportunities for the application and processing of carbon fibre materials, the company reports.

They, for example, can enable shorter cycle times, weldability, reparability and re-use, thereby offering the customer cost and processing benefits.

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