Bcomp wins award for automotive applications of its technology

JEC Americas will be the stage where the Composites Industry demonstrates how new materials push the limits of Innovation in every Industry. The most advanced Composites Innovations will be awarded with an innovation prize. One of the winners is Bcomp.

Bcomp has developed the powerRibs patented technology, which has a higher performance-perprice ratio than standard composites currently on the market. For a given performance, this technology allows to decrease weight by up to 50% while simultaneously cutting costs, which is of particular interest for the automotive sector.

This novel reinforcement material can be combined with all types of structural materials, such as carbon-fibre composites, glass-fibre composites or non-woven natural-fibre composites, but also any type of sheet metal alloys. For a given flexural stiffness, the weight of a reference carbon composite plate can be reduced by 27% with acost lowered by 40 %whenthecarbon-fibreparts are replacedby powerRibs. When compared to a full glass-fibre composite plate, cost can still be reduced by approximately 30% while cutting over 40% of the weight for the same performance.

This unique combination of high flexural stiffness and damping is ideal for a wide range of applications in the sports & leisure industry (kayak hulls, bicycle frames) but especially in the automotive industry with the current strong drive for light-weighting and high-performance bio-sourced materials. This innovation can be used for both automotive interior semi-structural shell elements (door panels, seat backs, front panels) and exterior body parts (roofs, fenders, etc.). In addition to its extensive collaboration with ESA, Bcomp has launched collaborations with several players in the automotive industry, namely a leading tool manufacturer and several Tier1 suppliers and OEMs.

The JEC Innovation Awards ceremony will highlight Bcomp and 10 other innovators and will take place on June 2 at JEC Americas in Houston.

About JEC
With a network of 250,000 professionals, JEC is the largest composite industry organization in the world. JEC's experts offer a comprehensive service package: the JEC publications. JEC also organizes the JEC Europe Show in Paris – world and European leader, strongly supported by the industry and five times bigger than any other composites exhibition – JEC Asia in Singapore and JEC Americas in Atlanta, Houston & Boston; the Web Hub www.jeccomposites.com; the JEC Composites Conferences, Forums and Workshops (including JEC Conferences) in Paris, Singapore and Atlanta, Houston & Boston; and the JEC Innovation Awards program (Europe, Asia, America, India and China).