French automaker Faurecia and Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) have signed an agreement to jointly work on R&D engineering and prototypes for advanced industrial processes for composites in the automotive field.
Under the agreement, the two companies will develop composite industrial processes applied to structural parts enabling weight reduction by 20% to 50% compared to traditional materials, while controlling costs, quality and performance.
The Fraunhofer ICT already has its own pilot production lines enabling validation of new composite technologies and processes.
In addition, Faurecia said it is planning to implement the new materials in mass serial production of automotive parts by 2020.
Source:
http://www.automotive-business-review.com/news/faurecia-fraunhofer-ict-collaborate-on-rd-automotive-composites-091112
