Lightweighting: New materials for a cleaner world
Contents
Introduction
A lighter future
Market trends
Facts, figures, forces
Investment opportunities and market segments
Lightweighting’s impact
Less GHG?
Market movers
Leaders & fast followers
Investors
VC / PE / Funds
To be sure
Cautions, downsides
Towards a lighter, engineered future
The future is looking decidedly … lighter.
From the time when early folks joined planks to make wheels that rolled better than solid wooden discs, progress has been defined in part by transitions to lighter, more energy-efficient materials.
The Wright Brothers casting the first airplane engine block from aluminum, soldiers wearing Kevlar body armor, and Boeing building half of its 787 Dreamliner from high-tech plastics are among countless innovations that arose from the need to drop kilos, grams and pounds.
The need to lighten things up has a new dimension, and urgency, not faced by early inventors. Greenhouses gasses from burning fossil fuels being pumped into the atmosphere are changing the climate. Technological advances don’t appear to be keeping pace with increasing carbon dioxide releases.
“The need to lighten things up has a new dimension, and urgency, not faced by early inventors. Technological advances don’t appear to be keeping pace with increasing carbon dioxide releases.”
Lightweighting — building with light, engineered materials like carbon fibers to cut fuel consumption – is seen as a valuable tool in cutting CO2 output and bringing climate change under control.
While engineered materials have been around since the turn of the last century — plastics and resins were first, with fiberglass coming in the 1930s — stronger, lighter materials are being constantly developed and refined. They are used in all modes of transportation, from ships to rail to flight, while at the same time packaging, and the things that need to be hauled around such as weapons and sporting goods, are being built with pound-cutting materials.
55 MPG & other market forces
The road to a lighter future is creating opportunities while also confronting obstacles.
While the the market is seen expanding by 6%-8% annually through at least the end of the decade, high costs for materials, complicated production and rapid changes in electric vehicle architecture may limit growth. Still, that hasn’t slowed innovation thanks to an abundance of challenges.
The move to lighter materials is also being sparked by new U.S. regulations that mandate 55 miles per gallon as the industry standard for new vehicles starting in 2026. Lightweighting is seen as one way manufacturers will meet these more restrictive fuel consumption standards. Demand is also being stoked by demands for electric vehicle platforms, which require strong, light frames to haul around massive battery packs.
In 2021, a year marked by materials shortages caused supply chain malfunctions, manufacturing with composites actually increased, according to Gardner’s Composites World. This was helped by United Airlines purchase of 270 jets from Boeing and Airbus, which market would require 2.12 million pounds of composites, the market researcher said.
Other deals reflected demand for lightweight materials. Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group, one of the world’s biggest iron ore producers, in January paid $223 million for Williams Advanced Engineering, which develops lightweight structures and materials, as well as batteries, for cars and aerospace. The company was spun out of Williams Racing Formula One where it developed composite materials for race cars.
Boosting range, cutting fuel
Carbon fiber, plastics, aluminum foam are among composites that boost speed and range while cutting energy use.
Strength and safety in transportation are also enhanced by these materials, as lightweight composites are often many times stronger, and able to absorb impact better, than heavy steel and other metals.
Cutting a car’s weight by 10% an boost fuel economy 6%-8%, the U.S. Energy Department says. Curiously, the average vehicle weight hasn’t fallen, despite composites increasingly replacing heavy steel. At the same time, fuel economy and horsepower have increased.
U.S. Department of Energy
Online retailers have come under fire to lighten the load since the pandemic led to a sharp increase in home delivery. Retailers including Amazon are insisting shippers slash packaging weight to cut fuel use and emissions.
Market trends: Facts figures & forces
Automotive
Lighter vehicles, reduced weight packaging that lighten container loads, wind-turbine fan blades are all parts of the global push to reduce greenhouse gases.
This is particularly true in automotive, an industry where carbon fiber wheels for mass production are in development from companies like Australia’s Carbon Revolution, and Shelby Cobra recently announced its 88-pound body sheathing its 800 horsepower motor.
Automotive makes up about 90% of the lightweight materials market, and it’s the sector seeing the largest rise in demand.
Aerospace, wind energy, and shipping make up the rest of the market.
Alliance project
Lightweighting is a huge initiative of carmakers, who joined forces to launch the Alliance project which sought to manufacture lighter vehicles through sharing knowledge, research and experience with lightweight materials. Participating manufacturers were Daimler, Volkswagen, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, Volvo and Opel. The project, which wrapped up in 2019, aimed to cut vehicle weight 21-33%, trim costs and reduce tailpipe emissions by 6%.
The global market for lightweight automotive materials is expected to grow 7.3% annually, reaching $99.3 billion by 2025, according to Markets and Markets.
Around 60% of today’s car body structures are made of advanced high-strength steels, McKinsey & Co. said.
About 80.1 million vehicles were produced globally in 2021, a drop of nearly 12 million since the pandemic began, according to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.
Government support
Governments in the U.S. and Europe are helping create demand for lightweight materials. Car manufacturers will certainly lean on composites to help them comply with fuel efficiency standards recently raised to 55 miles per gallon by the U.S. EPA.
Europe’s Green Deal, which seeks to make the continent achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, will help composite materials makers.
In the U.S., the Energy Department’s Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) is seeking to help boost the efficiency of advanced internal combustion engines by 25% to 50%.
VTO says it “is working with teams to develop new high strength, light-weight engine materials for automotive applications as well as new iron-based cast alloys for heavy-duty engines.”
Investment Outlook
Growth will be fueled by an ever-growing shift towards lightweight materials such as aluminum, high-strength steel, carbon fiber and magnesium composites:
The strongest carbon fibers are ten times stronger and five times lighter than steel, and eight times stronger than aluminum.
In electric vehicles, batteries are extremely heavy, so the chassis and other components must be much lighter to compensate. Electric vehicles are hindered by poor charging infrastructure that will take years, if not decades, to sufficiently improve. In the short term, lighter, more aerodynamic cars will improve the performance and range of electric vehicles.
Lightweighting's Impact
More than 5 billion gallons of fuel could be saved annually in the U.S. by 2030 if one-quarter of vehicles used lightweight components and high-efficiency engines enabled by advanced materials, the U.S. Energy Department says.
Lightweighting seen as one way manufacturers will meet more restrictive fuel consumption rules.
Airplane manufacturers are looking at composites as they seek to cut fuel usage, as airline travel is among the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases.
Lightweight aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350, utilize 20% less fuel and generate 20% fewer emissions when compared to aircraft of similar sizes
Lightweight infrastructure allows for larger batteries in electric vehicles. Adding 1.8kg of battery mass is roughly equal to 1 mile of electric vehicle range.
Market Movers: Current and Future Heavy Hitters
Williams Advanced Engineering
Williams makes lightweight components for vehicle parts. The batteries that Williams engineered for Formula 1 racing have been adapted as a prototype for carmakers including as Aston Martin and Jaguar.
Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group, one of the world’s biggest iron ore producers, in January 2021 paid $223 million for UK-based Williams.
Nèos Superform
Nèos Superform, formerly Luxfer Superform, is an alloy and super forming company with manufacturing facilities in both the United States and United Kingdom. It’s part of UK-based Nèos International.
9T Labs
9T Labs builds carbon fiber composites through additive manufacturing.
In a January 2020 seed round Zurich-based 9T labs secured $4.3 million in funding.
Boston Materials
Boston Materials makes sheets and custom carbon fiber. They claim their processes reduce material cost by 25% while also using material that is 200 times tougher than other composites.
The company in May 2021 closed an $8 million financing led by AccelR8 and Valo Ventures. Clean Energy Ventures, a previous backer, also participated in the round.
Weav3D
Weav3D of Georgia makes composites of varying complexities. Weav3D’s composites can be used in applications including as lightweight automotive parts due to their high strength to weight ratio.
Rein4ced
Rein4ced specializes in the production of carbon fiber composites. The Belgian company’s products are used across industries and supplied to OEMs in both the automotive and aerospace sectors.
Carbon TT
Carbon TT seeks to make delivery trucks lighter. The German company says its CFRP is as strong as steel and aluminium, while being up to 50% lighter than steel and 30% lighter than aluminium.
Blackwave
Blackwave is a German company that specializes in the production of sheet moulding compounds. Their carbon reinforced products are used in a litany of industries including automotive and even kitchen cutlery.
Arevo
Arevo of California makes carbon fiber to scale for customers. By limiting the amount of empty space in their products, Arevo is able to produce a stronger carbon fiber that is less susceptible to fracture relative to similar technologies.
ACE Technology
ACE provides lightweight composite components for multiple industries. Aside from automotive and aerospace use, the UK manufacturer’s technology has the ability to be used within the defence sector.
In May 2019 ACE received the EN9100 certification allowing them to provide their composites to OEMs within the aerospace industry.
Arris Composites
San Francisco-based Arris Composites says it’s able to mass-produce renewable composites through their patented “additive molding” process, at the same speed as plastic molds.
In May 2020 Arris received $48.5 million in Series B funding to accelerate their mass-production process.
TRB Lightweight Structures
TRB of the UK makes composites from bio-based materials to lightweight aluminium solutions. Their products are used in industries from rail to automotive vehicles.
Vistex Composites
Vistex is a New York State based company that manufactures thermoplastic composites. Their production process specializes in the ability to apply uniform temperature and pressure throughout the molding process.
Other companies
Formosa Plastics Corp., SABIC, PPG Industries Inc., Precision Castparts Corp., Solvay SA, Alcoa Corp., Toray Industries Inc., Evonik Industries AG, Novelis Inc., and Covestro AG.
Venture Capital/PE and Other Fund Investors
AE Industrial Partners
AE invests in industries including aerospace, defense & government services, space, and power generation. In 2021, it announced a partnership with Boeing, where it will manage HorizonX, Boeing’s venture capital arm.
Airbus Ventures
Airbus VC is a subsidiary of aerospace company Airbus and seeks to invest in early, growth-stage companies within the transportation, electrification, AI, and robotic spaces.
Airbus’s portfolio currently consists of numerous firms within the sustainable air transport industry.
Midlands Engine Investment Fund
MEIF focuses on commercially focusses on financing small to medium businesses through loans, debt and equity finance. In October 2020, MEIF invested in CFP composites, a revolutionary ultra-lightweight materials company.
Scania Growth Capital
Scania invests in high-growth companies with significant minority investments within the automotive and transport industries. Scania has been an investor in lightweight composite material company Corebon.
RobecoSAM Smart Materials Fund
RobecoSAM is a stock fund that focuses primarily on electric mobility, robotics, and lightweight materials. It’s part of Netherlands asset manager Robeco.
Final Thoughts and Potential Risks
The market is expanding for lightweight materials, and they appear to be an integral weapon in solving the climate crisis.
As with every solution, every investment, potential roadblocks and downsides need to be known and managed. With lightweighting, these include:
Uncertainty about future mobility architectures, i.e. hybrid/fully electric/hydrogen, is freezing investments and limiting sector growth:
Carbon fiber is expensive, many times more expensive than steel and aluminum.
Lightweight materials are complicated to produce, as they involves more mechanical and chemical processes than metals coming from ores.
Automotive light weighting requires new architecture, and hence new production plants.
Lightweighting of parts involved in combustion engines is not a viable long-term investment, perhaps discouraging investors.
For further reading, look at the U.S. Energy Department’s page that looks at the pros and cons of some lightweight materials used in cars.