Project description
New materials light up the path for electric cars
Lightweight materials are required to drive the electric car market in the coming years. The reason is simple: it takes less energy to accelerate a lighter object than a heavier one. In this context, the EU-funded LEVIS project will develop multi-material structural parts using thermoplastic-based carbon fibre reinforced plastics/metal hybrid materials integrated with a structural health monitoring system. The aim is to achieve a significant weight reduction while keeping the mechanical in-service performance of the targeted parts. As such, new sustainable materials and suitable manufacturing and assembly procedures as well as advanced simulation methodologies/workflows and innovative sensing/monitoring technologies will be developed.
Objective
The aim of LEVIS Project would be to develop a new manufacturing route able to fill the current industrial gap present in mass production automotive applications. By adopting an eco- and circular design concept from the design phase to the end-of-life stage, LEVIS project will develop, verify and demonstrate lightweight structural parts in electrical vehicles. Enhanced sustainability, improved raw material use-, energy- and cost efficiency, reduced weight yet high structural integrity and reliability are expected to be achieved. LEVIS envisages the use of multi-material solutions based on fibre reinforced thermoplast.
LEVIS aims at the development of structural parts in automotive using thermoplastic based CFRP/metal hybrid materials integrated with SHM system in order to achieve a significant weight reduction while keeping the mechanical in-service performance of the targeted parts. For that, new sustainable materials, suitable manufacturing/assembly procedures, advanced simulation methodologies/workflows and innovative sensing/monitoring technologies will be developed, implemented and validated. Recyclable resins, bio-resourced CF and recycled CF will be developed and used for these parts for enhanced sustainability. The feasibility and scale-up capability of production of these lightweight materials and structural parts will be verified and demonstrated. A circular-design approach will be used for constructing the structural parts in order to maximise their service-life and enable easy, effective and efficient dismantling and reuse of the components (both CFRP- and metal-) in the parts as well as recovery of resins and fibres with sufficient quality for second-life use.
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Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
50018 Zaragoza
Spain