20
THE TECH
Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE), a UK-based
tech and engineering firm, says it is working on new
carbon composites that offer comparable performance
to existing options, but at a cost that brings them within
reach of mainstream applications.
WAE says carbon fiber reinforced polymer’s high
strength-to-weight ratio, stiffness, and resistance to
fatigue and its environment make it a good choice for
a variety of industries and applications, especially the
automotive industry, in which lightweighting is seen as a
primary tool to meet increasingly stringent fuel economy
targets, and to support the range required from EVs.
Despite these benefits, WAE says, a number of fac-
tors have held back the mass adoption of CFRP – most
notably cost.
These challenges have seen the application of CFRP
largely confined to niche applications. In the automotive
sector, for example, a body-in-white structure produced
with traditional composite techniques is typically around
60% lighter than steel, yet around 20 times more expen-
sive. The company says this has limited its application
to low-volume/high-cost vehicles, or situations in which
the vehicle manufacturer subsidizes the process as part of
its learning around new technologies.
WAE hopes two of its new technologies, known as 223
and Racetrak, can usher in a major change in the afford-
ability of composite materials.
WAE Technical Director Paul McNamara said, “We are
focusing our expertise on energy management, aerody-
namics, thermodynamics and lightweighting. As tools
for efficiency improvement, these are all highly synergis-
tic, so considering them as an integrated system allows
us to increase significantly the total benefits.”Williams Advanced
Engineering creates cheaper
carbon composites
Image courtesy of WilliamsBattery manufacturer OXIS Energy will establish a plant
in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, for the mass production of its
lithium-sulfur (Li-S) cells, which will be used for avia-
tion, defense, and EV applications. The construction of
the plant was funded by Codemge Participacoes, a public
company in Belo Horizonte, for $60 million.
The plant will aim to produce 5 million Li-S cells per
year by the mid-2020s. Phase 1 of the plant, to be com-
pleted in 2022, will aim for a capacity of 2 million cells
per year. The cells have a theoretical specific energy of
2,600 Wh/kg, though so far OXIS has achieved only 400
Wh/kg. The company is targeting 500 Wh/kg for 2019.
OXIS will pursue two types of ultra-light Li-S cells,
each with a nominal voltage of 2.1 V and capacity of 20
Ah. The first, a high-energy-density cell with over 500
Wh/kg, will be used for small electric aircraft, unmanned
aerial vehicles, and high-altitude pseudo-satellites. The
second, a high-power cell with over 400 Wh/kg, will be
used for EV applications and electric vertical take-off
and landing aircraft.
“The decision made by Codemge to invest alongside
OXIS to develop and build the first ever lithium-sulfur
cell technology manufacturing plant is of great signifi-
cance to the widespread adoption of pure electric vehi-
cles for worldwide consumption,” said OXIS CEO Huw
Hampson-Jones.OXIS Energy to build lithium-
sulfur battery plant in Brazil
Image courtesy of OXIS Energy