Japanese carbon fibre and plastics specialist Teijin (Tokyo; www.teijin.co.jp/english) plans to build what it says is the world's first pilot plant for fully integrated production of carbon fibre-reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) components at its Matsuyama / Japan site. The new JPY 2 bn (EUR 19.2m) facility, set to go on stream in mid-2012, will use the company’s mass production technology for the parts, which it says reduces moulding cycle times to less than one minute, the “ideal” tact for automobile production. Teijin also claims “revolutionary” weight-reduction potential for the components.

Beyond automotive applications, the process is being recommended for applications in which “certain levels of structural strength are required.” Earlier this year, Teijin developed an electric-vehicle concept car that features a body structure made entirely of CFRTP components, claimed to weigh only 47 kilograms – about a fifth the weight of a conventional automobile body structure. The parts are “highly recyclable,” it adds.