Teijin Limited announced today the launch of Sereebo, a new brand for carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTP) which the company envisions will be used in green products that revolutionize manufacturing with enhanced production speed and recyclability.
The name Sereebo is an acronym for "Save the earth, revolutionary & evolutionary carbon." Teijin expects Sereebo to facilitate the development of lighter and smaller mass-produced products such as automobiles.
Sereebo-branded CFRTP composites are made with three Teijin-developed intermediate materials that the company produces by impregnating carbon fiber with thermoplastic resin. U Series is a unidirectional intermediate offering directional strength on an ultrahigh level. I Series is an isotropic intermediate offering a balance of shape, moldability and multidirectional strength. P Series, which is a long-fiber thermoplastic pellet (LFT) made from high-strength carbon fiber, is suitable for injection molding of complex parts, a promising material that will enable the recycling of CFRTP composites.
Teijin is currently accelerating its development of applications for CFRTP composites in promising industrial fields including automotive. In 2011, the company developed the three intermediate materials and the world's first technology for the high-volume production of CFRTP components with a takt time of less than a minute, which overcomes one of the biggest challenges in the automotive industry. This breakthrough is expected to lead to increased use of high-performance, low-weight carbon fiber materials for automobiles and other products. Teijin is currently working with General Motors and other automakers worldwide to develop advanced carbon-fiber composite technologies for the mass production of reduced-weight vehicles.
Developments at Teijin are being spearheaded by a collaborative effort involving the Teijin Composites Innovation Center, a Japan-based R&D hub for carbon fiber composites business, the Teijin Composites Application Center, a technical facility opened in Michigan, USA in April 2012, and a pilot plant opened in Matsuyama, Japan in December 2012 to test the fully integrated production of CFRTP components.
The Teijin Group aims to become a global leader in the development of advanced solutions incorporating carbon fiber composites, targeting annual sales of JPY 150 to 200 billion (USD 1.5 to 2.0 billion) by around 2020.
