JEC Group Targets The Automotive Field To Promote Composites

JEC Group is aiming to promote composite materials in the automotive arena by highlighting the latest technologies that enable innovation in production, product design, and emission reductions.

For those who may be unfamiliar with JEC Group, it is the world-leading organization for the promotion of composite materials. Its current mission is to address composites’ end-use industries and move up a level to target the automotive field.

Composites were introduces tens of years of ago in car manufacturing for high-end performance vehicles and others as well. These materials are now being offered as alternatives to aluminum and steel due to their specific features. The most obvious of which is its incredibly lightweight properties.

According to Ms. Frédérique MUTEL, JEC Group President and CEO, “nearly 2.9 cars are produced and sold worldwide every second.” Even with that figure, there is still a lot of room for growth potential. The automotive industry makes up about 20% of the entire composites market and shows promise when it comes to opportunities for more efficient, stronger, lightweight materials for the (near) future.

"“They [composites] offer new design opportunities, enable a reduction in tooling investment and allow several functions to be integrated in one, on top of their corrosion and impact resistance,” Ms Frédérique in a press release.“Furthermore, composite materials contribute to the development of a new generation of cars, offering innovative battery integration solutions for electric vehicles, as well as a new generation of fuel storage tanks for hydrogen-powered vehicles.”"

The BMW i3 the largest-volume production vehicle ever to extensively use composites for emission-free mobility.

JEC Group is moving in such a direction as to strategize and democratize the promotion of the use of composite materials among end-users. In this case, specifically, the group is looking at OEMs and car manufacturers.

Keeping all this in mind, JEC Group says it will invest in a large number of composites pavilions at key automotive events in America, Asia and Europe. The first major event will be held at Mondial Tech Paris, as part of the Paris Motor Show, from October 2 to October 6, 2018. These pavilions will include an innovation showcase, networking activities, professional panel and expert presentations.

The second pavilion will take place at the widely-attended and viewed North American International Auto Show in Detroit from January 14 to January 18, 2019. This event will focus on the same goals as the aforementioned Paris show with an effort to share the knowledge and develop more networking opportunities for the goal. Additional events, specifically ones held in Asia, are being planned to cover the global automotive market on a larger scale.

The press release further states that:

"“Although the composites pavilions are organized by JEC Group, they will be supported by major composites manufacturers. These combined efforts will enable stands to showcase several solutions provided by composites for the automotive industry, driving innovation in this sector.”"

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