| Project Detail |
There are currently 1.3 million Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles on Europe’s roads, expected to rise to 15 million by 2030. Customers such as Audi, Daimler and Volvo have set a target 10% weight and cost reduction for CNG tanks, to increase efficiency and reduce vehicle cost.
Most CNG tanks are made from a metal or polymer liner, over-wound with a carbon/epoxy composite, but:
• Wet-winding of carbon/epoxy is slow, so limits cost-effective production
• Their properties vary by up to 10%, so excess material is used to compensate
To meet the customer targets, Plastic Omnium has developed a new process for the fast, efficient production of CNG tanks, using 8-axis robotic tape placement cell from MF Tech, and high quality carbon/polyamide tape developed by Coventive Composites.
Together, these technologies can reduce CNG tank weight by 10% and cost by 20%. The technologies are currently at TRL 6, and the objective is to overcome the 3 remaining barriers to demonstration at TRL 7/8:
1. Materials: Optimise and upscale the carbon/polyamide tapes to meet cost, accuracy and property needs
2. Process: Enhance the vessel-winding process to meet performance, weight and quality requirements
3. Product: Upscale the manufacture of carbon/polyamide CNG tanks, to enable economic production
Overcoming these barriers will trigger our customers to start certification of the carbon/polyamide CNG tanks, as the next step in our commercialisation plan.
The USP is that no other CNG tanks can offer the required weight and cost savings. Our customers have a requirement of 150,000 tanks per annum, and Plastic Omnium forecasts sales of 20,000 tanks (€11.7m) by 2025/26. MF Tech will supply robotic placement cells worth €2.1m, and Coventive Composites will supply tapes worth €6.2m.
This proposal fits the FTI work programme, as it takes the tape manufacture and winding technologies from TRL6, and addresses the last steps needed to reach commercialisation and sales within 1 year. |
