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High-Performance Composites / Low Environmental Impact
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We are excited to share with you the third newsletter of the r-LightBioCom project, which proposes a paradigm
shift in the way high-performance composites (HPC) are manufactured and
recycled, unlocking sustainable-by-design production of lightweight HPC.
In this issue, you will be able to find out about: |
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- r-LightBioCom's contribution to sustainable lightweight materials in HaDEA's workshop on Efficient, Lightweight, Sustainable Advanced Materials – Supporting EU industries to meet the Green Deal targets
- bio-based epoxy formulation for the infrastructural applications to be developed in the project
- a comprehensive material test characterization campaign currently ongoing
- joint activites with r-LightBioCom's sister projects as well as
- news, attended events and expected publications.
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We hope you will enjoy reading this newsletter.
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Participation in Workshop:
'Efficient, Lightweight, Sustainable Advanced Materials – Supporting EU industries to meet the Green Deal targets'
To meet the increasing demand for advanced materials produced or available in Europe, new, efficient, lightweight and sustainable materials need
to be developed, being circular in design, reducing CO2 emissions
and energy consumption of the products while offering excellent
properties.
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| On June 6, 2024, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) hosted the hybrid workshop online and in Brussels, Belgium with approximately 250 participants, addressing crucial challenges and opportunities in advancing innovative materials and processes. Main topics: |
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- recycling of lightweight polymer composite materials
- lightweight dissimilar material components and structures through additive manufacturing
- sustainable lightweight materials
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| Contributing to topic sustainable lightweight materials, r-LightBioCom’s project coordinator AITEX shared, among others: |
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- r-LightBioCom's innovation strategies
to improve properties and reduce environmental impact of
high-performance composites, as well as
- future exploitation / business cases.
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Explore the materials about r-LightBioCom shown during the workshop:
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Intermediate Research Activities and Outputs (Selection) |
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Bio-based epoxy formulation for the infrastructural applications |
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Amongst other resin developments, our project partner AEP Polymers has been focusing on a bio-based epoxy formulation for the infrastructural applications envisaged in r-LightBioCom.
Targeting a bio-based content of 50% wt. on the polymeric matrix,
AEP has been working to find the best compromise between process
parameters (pot-life, viscosity) and the required thermal properties,
particularly glass transition temperature.
A first sample have been
sent to the project partner Acciona, which leads the infrastructure use
case, to conduct lab scale tests and provide feedback based on their
experience in the real production process.
Following Acciona’s initial test results, AEP has recently designed 2K epoxy systems with
extended pot life at the critical processing temperatures, stable
formulation viscosity below the target threshold, and glass transition
temperature closer to the required value.
AEP is working to
increase the glass transition temperature, while lowering blend
viscosity further. The use of commercially available bio-based
components will enable a faster upscaling to the real pultrusion
process.
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Successful impregnation and fusion of cured bio-based vitrimer particles |
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The textile group at our project partner Hochschule Kaiserslautern has developed a vitrimer bio-composite using hybrid natural/basalt fibre non-woven reinforcement.
The cured bio-based vitrimer particles have been successfully
impregnated and fused and provide reprocessing and reshaping properties
to the bio-composite. The bio-content of the composite is 73%.
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Comprehensive material test characterization campaign being conducted |
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The Structural Optimization and Integral Safety Team at the Institute of Vehicle Concepts
of our project partner German Aerospace Center (DLR) is currently
conducting a comprehensive material test characterization campaign
aiming to identify key mechanical performances of various materials.
Core materials, which are a mixture of foams and honeycombs of metals,
thermoplastics and bio-based materials such as paper and wood, are being
tested via compression tests.
The tests will be used to create a database of material properties for use in the CEO whilst also providing insights to identify the ideal composite
developed within r-LightBioCom for each use-case. In the future, the
testing campaign will be extended to test the bio-based composites
produced in r-LightBioCom.
We had the opportunity to interview
Dr. Andrew Harrison, who is leading all project-related work at the DLR.
We gained fascinating insights, including that material characterization the has a pivotal role in the development of new technologies. Find out more and read the full interview here:
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Establishing the EcoComposites Cluster |
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Together with our sister projects FOREST, FURHY, SUSPENS and MC4, we are leveraging the Horizon Results Booster service to amplify the impact of our projects' research and innovation efforts.
At present, we are working on establishing the EcoComposites Cluster,
which will facilitate joint dissemination activities among our projects.
This also includes identifying and creating a shared portfolio of
project results that are well-suited for joint dissemination activites.We will keep you updated on the progress and planned joint activites on r-LightBioCom's communication channels.
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Upcoming 18-Month Project Review
r-LightBioCom has now been running for over 18 months. We are preparing for the upcoming 18-month review, which will provide a great opportunity to assess our progress, discuss achievements, and identify areas for improvement.
We will share insights and outcomes from this review on our project's communication channels.
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For more news and upcoming events in which you will be able to meet and engage with r-LightBioCom, stay tuned and follow our social media channels:
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3rd r-LightBioCom Project Meeting |
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On 22nd-23rd May 2024, the r-LightBioCom project held its 3rd project meeting in Terrassa, Spain. Hosted by project partner Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), the consortium convened to present and discuss the project's progress and achievements,
and engaged in productive discussions, laying the groundwork for the
project to effectively moving forward. Additionally, attendees had the
opportunity to view, handle, and discuss the samples produced over the
past months.
Read here more about the meeting: |
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Inspiring the Next Generation of Innovators |
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Our partners, CIDAUT and Hochschule Kaiserslautern
- University of Applied Sciences, provided prospective students with a
glimpse into various academic disciplines. Their goal was to
spark interest and enthusiasm for research among young minds through
sharing exciting insights into r-LightBioCom's ongoing research
activities. They showed students they can play a vital role in developing and contributing to innovative solutions for the future.
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Outreach Session
27.05.2024
CIDAUT at Lourdes School in Valladolid, Spain |
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Showcasing Technological Innovations in Circularity and Recyclability |
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On June 7, 2024, our sister project REPOXYBLE held its first Open Innovation Workshop: Processes and methods for recycling, reuse, and recovery of advanced composite materials in the transport sector.
Our project partner Coventry University showcased r-LightBioCom, focusing on the technological aspects concerning circularity and recyclability innovations.
Learn more about the workshop's highlights and outcome, and explore the presentation about r-LightBioCom that has been shown during the workshop here:
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Composites 2024 International Conference 06.-08.03.2024 in Sevilla, SpainProject partner Leibniz-Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe (IVW) presented latest results on bio-based hybrid composite epoxy/NIPU foams for infrastructural applications developed in r-LightBioCom. |
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Jornadas de Investigadoras de Castilla y León
18.-19.04.2024 in Valladolid, SpainProject partner CIDAUT showcased r-LightBioCom through a poster presentation explaning about the new rapid curing technologies to be developed in the project.
See the presented poster here:
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- Bio epoxy composites obtained through frontal polymerization. In: Revista Plasticos Modernos, Oct. 2024.
- Practical Approaches to Circular Economy in Automotive Engineering: a Review. In: Advances in Engineering Software, Dec. 2024.
- A Framework for Holistic Optimisation of Composite Structures. In: International Journal of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Dec. 2024.
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Funded
by the European Union under Grant Agreement Project No 101091691. Views
and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do
not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. The European Union
cannot be held responsible.
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