Truck manufacturers Scania have tapped another Swedish company, Corebon AB, to help drive down the manufacturing costs of producing carbon fibre-reinforced plastic components.
From Skis To Trucks
Like many metals used in manufacturing, carbon fibre is incredibly strong and rigid. Unlike those metals, however, it is also very lightweight. The problem with the material is that it is expensive to produce. Scania Growth Capital has invested 35 million SEK (Swedish Krona) in Corebon to further develop the company’s unique technology used for producing carbon fibre-reinforced plastic components. Corebon perfected its technique making lightweight skis.
The process involves heating the carbon fiber via induction, which lets the company shorten the time it takes to manufacture the material by a factor of 10. Tobias Björnhov, founder and CEO of Corebon AB, also boasts that his company’s technique yields up to 95% energy savings, and that less plastic needs to be added, resulting in more carbon fiber per ounce of finished material. According to Corebon, the new carbon fibre manufacturing process opens up countless applications in numerous industries, including automotive, telecommunication, aerospace, and robotics.
A Shot In The Arm
As a part of the cash infusion, Per-Arne Eriksson, Head of Customized Truck Development at Scania, is taking a seat on Corebon’s board of directors. Eriksson echoes the budding company’s enthusiasm, saying, “In the rapidly changing automotive industry, we see many opportunities to expand the use of carbon fibre composites to more applications as an enabler in product development, including in vehicle electrification.”
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