Abstract

Thermoplastic composites are increasingly being considered for large volume applications that involve replacing incumbent materials such as metals.  Recent global and national goals around carbon neutrality and circularity, are creating transformational opportunities in market segments like Automotive where new energy powertrains such as hybrid or full electric eVs are quickly replacing the internal combustion engine.  The Oil and Gas segment is also undergoing changes with clean energy sources such as natural gas and hydrogen requiring transportation and storage.   These changes present exciting opportunities for fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites (discontinuous, continuous fiber and hybrid systems) as they help drive light weighting, withstand aggressive exposure conditions that help reduce lifetime maintenance costs and last but not least, help reduce part assembly costs.  Finally, the need to reduce secondary operations and the ever increasing pressure on sustainability, creates the perfect opportunity to explore the use of hybrid thermoplastic matrix composites for these applications.

This talk will therefore focus on how best to look at mass adoption of hybrid, structural thermoplastic composite systems that fundamentally combine geometric and processing flexibility of virgin or short/long fiber reinforced injection molded compounds together with strategic placement of continuous fiber tape or laminate based products to deliver the right cost-performance balance.  Examples from Automotive and Oil and Gas & Hydrogen will be described with the ultimate goal of delivering part consistency at large production build volumes whilst having the flexibility to accommodate changes that the industry demands.