Accelerating the transition to sustainable mobility is top of the automotive sector’s agenda. With their properties enabling mass reduction, high strength-to-weight ratio, design flexibility, tailorable mechanical performance and NVH qualities, polymer composites have the potential to support this journey. These advanced materials have long been used to improve fuel efficiency in fossil-fuel applications, this solution works equally well with electric vehicles, they are capable of increasing the range, performance, and ultimate adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide, making them integral to securing a zero-emission future.
The importance of polymer composites to green mobility cannot be denied, but their successful, full integration into the UK supply chain is dependent on three founding principles, firstly you must consider design for application. To do this, you need to start by defining your key requirements, is it cost, volume, performance enhancement, reducing CO2 equivalent or a multiple of factors? This is pivotal to success, as it helps you determine the optimal material choice right at the start of the process, based on your chosen applications specific technical, manufacturing, commercial and strategic needs.
Establishing a robust UK-based supply chain for the complete life cycle of composite materials is essential for the growth of our automotive industry and its transition to net zero
Design for sustainability is the second element; it is essential to adopt a cradle-to-cradle approach by integrating composite materials into phase 1 of the design and measuring the life-cycle impact at every stage of development. Start with the raw-material supply, understand the CO2 equivalent produced during manufacture and weigh this against the lifetime function of the part in relation to its mass and CO2 savings. Thanks to constantly evolving system modelling and analysis techniques, this has become increasingly accurate. However, there still is a lot of development required around the data collection of the carbon footprint of raw materials and manufacturing processes used in Scope 3-emission calculations within life cycle assessments.
It does not stop there, circularity also comes into the life-cycle equation, what will happen at end of life? Is their potential to repurpose? In fact, recycling of carbon fibre is an area with massive growth potential, there are opportunities to be had here. It is an industry still very much in its infancy, and one that requires substantial focus and funding to meet future sustainability goals.
As a member of the APC’s Technology Trends team, I have recently been fortunate enough to collaborate with industry and academic partners to produce the Automotive Council’s 2024 Lightweight Vehicle and Powertrain Structures Roadmap. This Roadmap and accompanying narrative focuses in more detail on sustainable materials. It emphasises the importance of life-cycle study to optimise product design. It also discusses the part competitor materials play, such as green aluminium, and investigates how innovative joining techniques make it possible to create multi-material structures, optimising performance mass and lifetime CO2 savings, further evidencing the importance of design for sustainability (including design for disassembly).[SC2]
APC Collaborative R&D project ELEVATION is a fitting example of this. Launched in 2023 Project ELEVATION aims to accelerate the development of a modular luxury battery electric vehicle (BEV) platform, and associated technologies.
This includes development of innovative, production-ready composite materials for compression moulding processing.
The final part of the trilogy sits within talent management, there is a widening skills gap and a notable shortage of qualified materials engineers. We need to do more to attract the next generation of experts. Composites UK recently rolled out its Skills Pledge to encourage industry to work closer with schools, providing outreach activities to promote composites as an exciting area of study and recognising their importance to future sustainability.
In addition, our universities need to offer more material-specific courses, and businesses need to work closer with academic institutions to provide modern apprenticeships, attracting young minds to an exciting future growth market. We should also encourage more equality, diversity and inclusion, many sections of society remain under-represented in materials science, targeting a younger talent pool through STEAM events will hopefully go some way to addressing this situation.
It is clear that establishing a robust UK-based supply chain for the complete life cycle of composite materials is essential for the growth of our automotive industry and its transition to net zero. Design for application and sustainability form the basis of success and bridging the skills gap will ensure our future growth and global competitiveness. Just over 22 years ago, I started studying for my PhD[SC3] at The University of Nottingham, which was recognised as a leading European composites centre. Other specialist universities and institutions have since emerged in the UK, such as the National Composites Centre, AMRC and WMG, all helping to position the UK as a hub of composite excellence. It is important we continue to build on this legacy, developing new materials and innovative processes and attracting new talent and direct investment to support the introduction of pioneering recycling technologies.
Dr Sophie Cozien-Cazuc is Senior Strategist at the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC). The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) collaborates with UK government, the automotive industry and academia to accelerate the industrialisation of technologies that support the transition to zero-emission vehicles and towards a net-zero automotive supply chain in the UK.
Shaping the future of composites in the UK automotive sector
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