Project description
Cheaper carbon fibre-reinforced polymers for lighter cars
Car engineers love carbon. For instance, carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP), a composite material that is stable and lightweight, can reduce the weight of cars, which in turn reduces the EU emissions of CO2 – the main greenhouse gas. But CFRP is more expensive than steel. In this context, the EU-funded XCORE project proposes a solution using an expanding foam with gas-filled thermoplastic microspheres in a heatable closed mould. By doing this, it creates the high pressure needed to cure (consolidate the CFRP face material). The technology is expected to reduce the CFRP production costs. Overall, XCORE will initiate a shift from steel-manufactured cars to CFRP-manufactured cars, resulting in reduction in European fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
Objective
Today cars are responsible for 12% of the total EU emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas. European climate policy sets mandatory emission reduction targets for new cars. Car weight reduction with a CFRP chassis is an effective measure to reduce fuel consumption, increase passenger safety and extend the operational range of electric and hybrid vehicles. The mainstream automotive industry has not adopted CFRP for chassis production due to the high costs of CFRP production. Conventional CFRP production technologies produce structural components with an average production cost of 140 €/kg. In order to attain a disruptive shift from steel to CFRP within the mainstream automotive industry a maximum production cost of 30 €/kg has to be achieved. The XCORE production technology uses an expanding foam with gas filled thermoplastic microspheres in a heatable closed mould to create the high pressure necessary for curing (consolidating the CFRP face material), while conventional production is based on expensive autoclave or RTM technology. XCORE production technology reduces the CFRP production investment costs, material costs, operational costs, and labour, and will result in a production cost of only 27 €/kg for CFRP structural components. XCORE will initiate a disruptive shift from steel manufactured cars to CFRP manufactured cars, resulting in a European fuel consumption reduction of 1.21 billion litres representing a €1.17 billion cost reduction for car owners and a CO2 emission reduction of 3.0 billion kg/year. The key market is the European car manufacturing industry, which produces 17.3 million vehicles per year complemented with the US and Asian automotive industries. A demonstration is necessary to convince the automotive sector of the added value of the XCORE technology and opens the market for this innovation. For the Phase 2 project Donkervoort has involved key players to execute the demonstration project and develop the market implementation.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering vehicle engineering automotive engineering
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
SME - SME instrument
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
NL-8218 NJ Lelystad
Netherlands
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.