From the Sector

Composites Evolution Ltd has teamed up with leading natural fibre reinforcement specialists Bcomp to launch a new range of flax-epoxy prepreg materials, designed to offer enhanced sustainability without compromising on performance.

Evopreg ampliTex™ prepregs combine Composites Evolution’s high-performance Evopreg epoxy resin systems with Bcomp’s award-winning ampliTex™ flax reinforcements, to deliver a family of materials which offer outstanding performance for component applications.

To reach the full performance of natural fibres, Evopreg ampliTex™ prepregs have been tailored to be compatible with Bcomp’s powerRibs™ reinforcement grid, enabling the same stiffness and weight as thin-walled monolithic carbon fibre parts while decreasing the CO₂ footprint by 85% and improving safety thanks to a blunt braking behaviour without dangerous debris or sharp edges.

Composites Evolution’s Sales & Marketing Director, Ben Hargreaves, explains further.
“Sustainability is an increasingly important factor for many of our customers - particularly those involved in motorsports and high-performance automotive applications. As you’d expect in these sectors though, sustainability can’t come at the expense of performance the two must go hand-in-hand. This is something that other prepreggers can struggle with, as natural fibres behave very differently to carbon or glass, for example.”

Customers would be able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of natural fibre composites, and to show where and how they can be adopted without the need for significant changes to existing composite component production processes.

One such customer is Retrac Group, whose composites division is one of the UK’s most experienced composites engineering companies across motorsports, automotive and aerospace. It recently used Evopreg ampliTex™ + powerRibs™ to produce a demonstrator bonnet panel for a race-bred supercar. Project Manager Alan Purves explains.

“We’re seeing a growing interest in flax fibre composites, particularly in the motorsports and niche vehicle sectors. It is therefore essential that we have developed an in-depth understanding of the processing requirements and performance capabilities of these materials, and are ready to respond to our customers' requirements. Being able to tap into the combined expertise and experience of both Composites Evolution and Bcomp is proving invaluable.”

COBRA International is pleased to confirm its continued partnership with Fliteboard as the builders of the new Fliteboard Series 2.  

Conceived in 2016, the Fliteboard range of electric foiling surfboards has established a leading position in the eFoil market. In early 2021, Fliteboard announced a package of evolutionary improvements to the original award-winning design for which COBRA has installed significant additional manufacturing capacity.

With Fliteboard growing rapidly, and thousands of boards now delivered across more than 80 countries,  COBRA will continue to support Fliteboard with additional moulds and lean manufacturing production lines added to reduce customer lead times. In addition to this production capacity expansion, COBRA has successfully met the technical challenges set by the Fliteboard team to incorporate all the new Series 2 board features into the existing production processes.

Fliteboard’s first composite models used a carbon fibre and Innegra sandwich laminate over a moulded EPS foam core, combining maximum strength, stiffness, and durability with a low overall board weight. The same construction concept is used for the Series 2 boards, with several new finishes added to the range along with lighter colour matched EVA deck pads and upgraded latches on the carbon fibre board lid. New wood grain and metallic paint finishes have been introduced with COBRA’s semi-transparent paint system used to save weight and display the stunning hexagonal weave pattern of the carbon and Innegra reinforcement fabrics.

On June 1-2, 2021, JEC Composites Connect, the first round-the-clock digital event of the composites industry, will host significant industry players, enabling participants to discover their latest innovations. Three competitions the JEC Composites Challenge, the JEC Composites Startup Booster, and the famous JEC Composites Innovation Award, will also put the spotlights on the most innovative solutions and products this year

Key Figures

More than 1,000 companies from all the composites value chain spanning 46 countries will participate, network, and present their latest products on their digital booths.

Exhibitor’s breakdown by industrial sector :

• Raw materials
• Intermediate products
• Equipment, tools, and ancillary products
• Distribution, agents, and representation
• Third parties, services, engineering, and R&D
• Composite’s part producers and processors
• Composite’s end-users and integrators

Highlighting excellence and innovation

JEC Composites connect will also be the place to promote the composites sector’s biggest innovative projects. Many product launches are expected to be announced over the two days of the show, evidences a solidly dynamic sector led by high-performance and environmentally friendly innovations.

Among which 65 product launches are listed in the 2021 Innovation Report: from Raw materials, Intermediates and Ancillary, R&D to Production and Equipment, including Simulation and Measurement and Services.

Competitions and awards ceremonies

The JEC Composites Challenge will give the floor to ten young researchers from around the world on June 2nd at 12pm CEST. They will have five minutes to convince a panel of judges composed of leading industrial players in the composites sector. The competition builds bridges between research and industry and is a highlight of the event.

The 2021 JEC Composites Startup Booster has a line-up of 20 finalists who will pitch during two live sessions on June 1st from 10:30 am to 11:30 am and from 5 pm to 6 pm CEST. The 2021 JEC Composites Innovation Awards will celebrate the most innovative composites projects and fruitful collaborations between different value chain players in 2021.

Devan, one of the leading companies in sustainable and functional textile finishes, has been working together with Jeanologia, a global leader in sustainable and efficient finishing technologies for textiles, to reduce further water consumption during the application of Devan’s awarded BI-OME® antimicrobial and R-Vital® skincare range.

With increased attention to climate change and limiting excess water consumption in textile production (whether denim or other textiles), Devan and Jeanologia worked together to evaluate the application of Devan finishes onto garments via the patented e-Flow technology.

e-Flow technology can accomplish a considerable number of finishing effects with the highest quality, a minimal amount of water and zero discharge. The technology uses micronization and nebulization to substitute traditional abrasion process and deliver performance chemistry using nano-bubbles instead of water. It reduces the cost of application, saves the amount of water used and ensures that the correct amount of chemistry stays in the garment and not in the water. e-Flow is the perfect fit for every industrial washing machine. This allows mills and brands to apply Devan’s technologies in a more sustainable way than using traditional application equipment, even for smaller production runs and direct onto garments.

“With the global textile production using 4% of the global freshwater withdrawal, here at Devan we are continuously working on more sustainable solutions”, says Dr. Vanessa Daelman, CTO at Devan. “Next to this, we of course highly value sustainable application methods from Jeanologia, like e-Flow, in order to reduce the excess water usage during textile application. We are delighted that we could work together with Jeanologia and establish that Devan technologies can be easily applied via these technologies onto garments or fabrics like denim and with full retention of functionality. This application method also allows post garment treatment of our finishes, for example an antimicrobial treatment onto already finished garments, which will be increasingly important in a more circular textile world where re-use plays an important role”, Dr. Daelman concludes.

Kornit Digital is named among 29 winners of the 2020 EDP Awards, presented by the European Digital Press Association (EDP). The company’s NeoPigment™ Robusto Softener solution, which ensures superior hand feel for substrates imprinted using the Kornit Presto system for roll-to-roll, direct-to-fabric digital production, was selected “Best Coating and Varnish” in the Consumables category.

Kornit’s Softener solution is applied seamlessly during the printing process. No additional time, labor, or equipment is needed, and most importantly, it is a sustainable solution carrying Eco Passport certification and GOTS verification.
“Kornit Presto with Softener is changing the game for on-demand production, making pigment-based digital print a serious contender for even the most demanding fashion houses,” says Chris Govier, KDEU Managing Director. “Kornit is proud to be recognized for its innovations, and we strive to continue exceeding the market’s demands for efficient, eco-friendly, profitable solutions regardless of the new trends and challenges facing the textile industry.”

Cooperation and business development with AMAC
As of November 1st, 2020, AMAC is pleased to announce its cooperation with company FibreCoat for the market introduction of their products and global business development. FibreCoat is a young, award-winning start-up and spin-off of the RWTH Aachen University in Germany and develops multi-filament coated yarns, fabrics and composites based on glass or basalt fibres.

Dr. Michael Effing, CEO AMAC GmbH: „FibreCoat is a very promising newcomer in the electro-magnetic shielding and composites industry and their innovations are very cost-efficient for new technologies such as e-mobility or telecommunications. I am very pleased to introduce them to relevant key players in the industry and accompany them in their growth strategy.“

Product Launch
FibreCoat develops metal-coated fibres like bi-component multi-filament yarns with basalt core and aluminum coating which can be used for EMI-shielding and heat sinks in battery casings, electric diverters in filters, reinforcement of cast aluminum parts o ras conductive yarns in smart textiles.

FibreCoat launches ALUCOAT™, an aluminum-coated glass or basalt fibre which is suitable as electro-magnetic shielding material in automotive applications such as radar, antennas or for autonomous driving as well as for mobile phones and applications in buildings. Due to its extraordinary thermal conductivity and better heat transfer compared to traditional composite material, it can be used for the manufacturing of automotive battery trays or industrial applications such as fine particulate air filters.

ALUCOAT™ is available as of January 1st 2021 as a yarn, fabric or non-woven with a wide range of possible titers and areal weight. The material will offer an electrical conductivity of 100 Ωm and a working temperature of at least 400 °C. Furthermore, it can be used for the shielding of low to high frequencies with an effectiveness of 80 to 120 dB.

The AVK – Industrievereinigung Verstärkte Kunststoffe e.V. – has once again announced the winners of its prestigious Innovation Awards. Decided by an expert jury, the awards recognise and honour sustainable innovations in three categories: “Innovative Products/Applications”, “Innovative Processes” and “Research and Science”.

Overview of all the winners in the three categories:

Category “Innovative Products/Applications”
1st Place: “Directly-cooled electric motor with integral lightweight housing made of fibre reinforced polymers - DEmiL” – developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, Pfinztal, Germany, in partnership with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.*

2nd Place: “Intrinsically Reprocessable, Repairable and Recyclable (3R) thermoset composites for more Competitive and Sustainable Industries” – developed by cidetec, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain*

3rd Place: “Fireproof composite metal hybrid structure – LEO® fire protection sandwich with integrated Hyconnect steel-glass hybrid connector” – developed by SAERTEX GmbH & Co. KG and Hyconnect GmbH.*

Category “Innovative Processes”
1st Place: “Robotised Injection Moulding (ROBIN)” – developed by Robin, Dresden with the Institute for Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology at the TU Dresden*

2nd Place: “Omega stringer from the roll” – developed by the German Aerospace Center, Braunschweig*

3rd Place: “Hybrid die-casting – manufacturing of intrinsic CFRP-aluminium composite structures in aluminium high-pressure die-casting” – developed by Faserinstitut Bremen e. V. with Fraunhofer IFAM, Bremen*

Category “Research and Science”:
1st Place: “New high-temperature resistant UP resins and toughening agents” – developed by Münster University of Applied Sciences with BASF SE Global New Business Development, Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research e. V., Saertex multicom GmbH*

2nd Place: “Scientific basis for the industrial application of the thermoplastic resin transfer moulding (T-RTM) process” – developed by Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, Pfinztal*

3rd Place: “The material- and energy-efficient production of turbine struts by the integrative combination of thermoset fibre reinforced materials” – developed by the Institute of Polymer Technology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg with the German Aerospace Center, Gubesch Group, Schmidt WFT, Siebenwurst, Raschig.

Award ceremony on the Internet for the first time
For the first time, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the award ceremony took place as an online event on 12 November 2020. Many of the award winners’ innovations will be presented again in this year’s AVK Innovation Award brochure. This will be available online: https://www.avk-tv.de/innovationaward.php

*Please see attached document for more information.

Anker, Devan and Shark Solutions teamed up to create the world’s first flame retardant aviation carpet using a recycled binder. Inspired by the knowledge and the needs of the aviation market, Anker motivated to achieve this new goal together. The PVB binder reuses laminated glass, from windshields and architectural/building glass, that otherwise would go to landfill.

German carpet manufacturer Anker is the first company to offer flame retardant carpets for aviation that are made with a recycled binder. In the search for a more sustainable binder, Anker discovered the PVB from Shark Solutions, a Danish cleantech company focused on giving a new life to post-consumer PVB. Properties of the aviation carpet with PVB as binder are the same as those of traditional non-sustainable carpets. The market has been looking for this type of solutions for a long time and market introduction has already started. Anker will introduce well known and special developed styles of aviation carpets with PVB and plan to take out traditional non-sustainable aviation carpets stepwise as soon as possible.

Shark’s PVB reuses laminated glass, from windshields and architectural/building glass, that otherwise would go to landfill. The non-toxic binder (no chlorine or phthalates) is fully recyclable and thus lives up to the future standards of the industry.

Textile innovator Devan Chemicals, known for its tailor-made flame retardant solutions, was called in to develop the flame retardant back coating, which is compliant with the Airbus and Boeing safety standards. “Based on many years of experience and competences in customer related developments, improving recycling rates is getting more and more important”, says Dirk Vanpachtenbeke, R&D manager Flame Retardants at Devan. “We are very proud that, together with Anker and Shark Solutions, we can contribute to this rising demand for products that meet the standards of a circular economy solution.”

In other news, Anker and Devan are already working on a new project, which includes Devan’s antimicrobial/viral-reducing technology. Recently, Devan published test results on the activity of their technology (BI-OME®) against SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. According to independent testing, BI-OME is proven to achieve 99% and higher virus reduction, including of SARS-COV-2, on samples before washing and retains 98.5% even after 25 wash cycles. This technology has been recognized with the 2020 European Technology Innovation Leadership Award by Frost & Sullivan.

• AACOMA - Accelerate advanced composite manufacturing
• EMR Region Belgium, the Netherlands & Germany area hot spot for the future of lightweight materials and technologies

The Euregio Meuse-Rhine provides a huge potential with its many highly innovative, leading companies and especially SMEs which are active in the area of advanced material manufacturing in many industrial sectors, such as Automotive, Aerospace, Electronics, Building and Infrastructure, etc. The advanced material sector is growing, with a consolidated offer, ranging from raw material producers over technology development to production, research and development as well as industrial OEMs.

Interreg Euregio Meuse-Rhine invests EUR 96 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the period 2014-2020. Through the investments in cross-border projects, the European Union invests in the economic development, innovation, territorial development and social inclusion and education of this region.

Project

The Euregio Meuse-Rhine is a potential hot-spot for the further development of advanced material and process technologies. Technical Centers and Institutes around Aachen/Germany, Liège/Belgium and Eindhoven/The Netherlands were awarded with this new project AACOMA.

Innovative material design and advanced manufacturing provide large opportunities for SMEs. The AACOMA project kick-off took place in Aachen at the Campus of the RWTH University of technology in 1 Q 2020. The aim of the project, which is running for 3 years until 2023 with a budget of €3 Mio, is to connect SMEs with innovation hot-spots like institutes and technical centers.
Seven partners from all three regions will carry the project out: Centexbel is the project leader and gets support by University of Liège, Sirris and Flanders Make from Belgium, as well as Fontys University of Applied Science and AMIBM of Maastricht University in the Netherlands and AMAC in Germany.

Statements

Bernard Paquet, Project Coordinator from Centexbel/ Belgium stated:
“Centexbel, with a strong experience in textile and composites, will identify with its Interreg partners and an advisory board of international experts several demonstrators which will enable an accelerated advanced manufacturing of composite parts. This could include new materials and intermediates, high performance additives, bio-based products and new composites by additive manufacturing”.

Michael Effing, Managing Director of AMAC/ Germany said:
“The major goal of the project is to connect around 200 innovative SMEs with each other and establish the links to the world-class institutes in the EMR region. We will facilitate 6 roadshow events, addressing key topics like automated manufacturing, additive manufacturing or bio-based material systems combined with match making and training events. The first roadshow will be held on September 24, 2020 at the Aachen Campus of the RWTH University of Technology.”

Prof. Gunnar Seide from the AMIBM/The Netherlands continued:  
“Our AMIBM offers already an international master program on bio-based materials. The AACOMA project will be an important element for transborder research and will identify new players in the value chain coming from the EMR region. Innovative companies find markets for their new bio-based building blocks, chemicals and polymers. Their success stories and upcoming technological breakthroughs are needed for a sustainable future.”

HeiQ, winner of the Swiss Technology Award and Swiss Environmental Award, launches HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03, an antiviral and antimicrobial textile treatment that is tested effective against coronavirus.

Since its inception 15 years ago, HeiQ has forged a solid innovation track record helping brands improve textile products. Catalyzed to action by the global fight against Coronavirus, HeiQ launches HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03, an antiviral and antimicrobial textile treatment which is proven effective against human coronavirus (229E) in face mask testing, significantly enhancing the antiviral log reduction from 2.90 of untreated face masks to 4.48, over 99.99% reduction of virus infectivity. (Remarks: a log reduction of 2 is equivalent to 100 times the effectiveness).

Chinese protective masks producer Suzhou Bolisi is the lead adopter of HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03. Treated masks will be available on the market as early as this April. American legwear manufacturer Kayser-Roth is planning to add the technology to their new product, Ghluv hands protector, while Lufeng from China is evaluating the technology on other types of fabric used for garments.

HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03 is a unique combination of vesicle and silver technologies designed to inhibit the growth and persistence of bacteria and viruses. The HeiQ vesicle technology targets lipid- enveloped viruses, such as coronavirus, providing rapid virus deactivation, while the HeiQ silver technology inhibits the replication of both bacteria and viruses. HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03 can be applied to a wide spectrum of textile surfaces including face masks, air filters, medical gowns, curtains, drapes and more. HeiQ also has a range of highly wash-durable antimicrobial and odor control textile technologies, called HeiQ Pure, combining silver-based and bio-based materials for all fabric types.