The largest growth markets
Currently, aircraft construction, wind turbines and the manufacture of pressure vessels for storing hydrogen (H2) can be identified as the largest growth markets in the carbon fiber sector.
In aircraft construction, the use of CFRP instead of aluminum brings significant weight and thus fuel savings, as mentioned above. Wind turbine blades have traditionally been made of glass fibers. The switch to carbon fibers also results in weight savings here. In addition, the excellent properties in terms of tensile and compressive strength are an advantage, because state-of-the-art wind turbines with outputs of 6 to 9 MW require blade lengths of 70 to 90 meters. At this length, they are subject to high requirements in terms of deflection and stiffness – requirements that carbon fibers can meet. Last but not least, CF technology is developing its potential in the field of fuel cells: pressure vessels for storing hydrogen are made of carbon fibers. For example, the weight of trucks or buses can be reduced by around 450 kg.
Carbon and the climate: a double-edged sword
The equation could be as simple as this: lightweight components = lower fuel consumption = better climate balance. To some extent this is true, because CFRP can save quite a bit of weight, especially in aircraft, vehicle and mechanical engineering. Just imagine an electric car with the conventional, rather heavy components – its range would be severely impaired. But on the other hand, CFRP production requires a lot of energy. In addition, there are large material losses during production.
The environmental institute bifa was commissioned by Fraunhofer IGCV to analyze the environmental balance sheet for CFRP production and came to the conclusion that compared to fuel savings in vehicle use, CFRP production offers greater potential for improving the climate and resource balance. Above all, the use of renewable energy sources plays an important role.
As an industrial furnace manufacturer, we are therefore constantly optimizing our plants with regard to these criteria in order to be able to reduce our CO2 footprint in the future and make our technology as climate-friendly as possible.
Conclusion and outlook
Carbon or CFRP and its production is an important future technology that needs to be improved against the background of its climate footprint. One option on the way to greener carbon: algae. At the Technical University of Munich, a project is being funded that is dedicated to the production of carbon fibers from algae. The team is developing PAN fibers from these algae, which are then carbonized into carbon fibers in a CO2-neutral process.
The advantages of CFRP are crucial for future mobility concepts: carbon is lighter, harder and more tensile than steel. Aircraft construction, wind turbines and fuel cell technology in particular are proving to be strong growth markets. However, the production of CFRP is particularly complex, which is illustrated by the individual production steps. This is also associated with correspondingly high costs. Innovations made of carbon, however, are already indispensable today – and will probably be even more so in the future.