“We’re ramping up production now – going from a 3000 square metre factory to 10,000 square metres over the next 12 months – to meet our customer commitments.
“We’ve come a long way in just the past 10 years. In 2010, we made two wheels for the whole year! Now we are supplying six major Original Equipment Manufacturers. There were a lot of challenges to solve – getting the material system working in a high temperature environment, getting the coatings right, creating thermal barrier. You are dealing with a bolted system – how do you best attach the wheel to the car? It’s a complicated fibrous structure and you have to manufacture it at scale.
“Taking the weight out of a rotating un-sprung mass provides a huge advantage in performance and efficiency. You get five times the advantage gained in removing the weight say from seats, for example. Reducing weight for electric vehicles is also a range extender, so the potential is big.”
“I developed my interest in composite materials engineering while studying mechanical engineering at Deakin. That was where I began to understand the full potential of lightweight composite materials. The people at the University have been a huge support in the success of Carbon Revolution. My PhD was researching composite materials.”
Carbon Revolution and Deakin University recently announced a new $15 million manufacturing research and development project, facilitated by the Innovative Manufacturing CRC (IMCRC).
According to Carbon Revolution’s Chief Executive Officer, Jake Dingle, this research project will support a significant increase in terms of industrial scale and output of its products.
Ashley Denmead
Engineering and Design Director, Carbon Revolution