Teijin to build carbon fiber/thermoplastic facility for autos

Teijin Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) announced on Nov. 30 that it will establish the world's first pilot plant for fully integrated production of carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) automotive components on the premises of its Matsuyama factory in Ehime Prefecture, Japan.

The new plant will feature Teijin's mass production technology for CFRTP components, which is said to significantly reduce cycle times required for molding composite products to under a minute, enabling rapid production of various prototypes and performance evaluation tests.

 Construction of the new plant will begin soon, with operations expected to start in mid-2012.

The new plant will enable Teijin to further accelerate commercialization of CFRTP components for mass-produced automobiles and other industrial uses. Capital expenditure for the establishment of the pilot plant will total more than ¥2 billion ($25.8 million).

 Teijin's proprietary mass production technology for CFRTP enables the integrated production of carbon fiber into composite products within one minute. The technology is expected to find a wide range of applications, in addition to automobiles, where certain levels of structural strength are required.


To introduce this cutting-edge technology to automakers, Teijin developed an electric-vehicle concept car earlier this year featuring a body structure made entirely of CFRTP components and weighing only 47 kg/104 lb — or roughly one-fifth the weight of a conventional automobile body structure.