Teijin to Open CFRTP Pilot Plant for Producing Composites from Carbon Fiber for Japan's Automotive Industry

Teijin Limited has announced that it will establish the world's first pilot plant for fully integrated production of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) components from carbon fiber on the premises of its Matsuyama Factory in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The new plant will feature Teijin's unprecedented mass production technology for CFRTP components, which significantly reduces 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 shortly, with operations expected to commence in mid 2012. The new plant will enable Teijin to further accelerate its commercialization of CFRTP components for mass-produced automobiles and other industrial uses. Capital expenditure for the establishment of the pilot plant will total over two billion yen.

Teijin's proprietary mass production technology for CFRTP enables the integrated production of carbon fiber to composite products within one minute, the ideal tact time required by automakers for mass-produced vehicles. The technology, which promises to realize revolutionary weight-reduction, is expected to find a wide range of applications in addition to automobiles, where certain levels of structural strength are required. CFRTP components are also highly recyclable, as technically its thermoplastic resins can be converted into desired shapes when heated.

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 kilograms or roughly one-fifth the weight of a conventional automobile body structure.

Through the new pilot plant, Teijin aims to accelerate its market development and further its position as a global leader in carbon fiber composite products.