The name Sereebo is an acronym for “Save the earth, revolutionary & evolutionary carbon.” Teijin expects Sereebo to facilitate the development of lighter and smaller mass-produced products such as cars.

Sereebo-branded CFRTP composites are made with three Teijin-developed intermediate materials that the company produces by impregnating carbon fibre with thermoplastic resin:

U Series - a unidirectional intermediate offering directional strength on an ultrahigh level

I Series - an isotropic intermediate offering a balance of shape, mouldability and multidirectional strength

P Series - a long-fibre thermoplastic pellet (LFT) made from high-strength carbon fibre, is suitable for injection moulding of complex parts, a promising material that will enable the recycling of CFRTP composites

 Teijin is currently accelerating its development of applications for CFRTP composites in promising industrial fields including automotive. In 2011, the company developed the three intermediate materials and the world’s first technology for the high-volume production of CFRTP components with a takt time of less than a minute, which overcomes one of the biggest challenges in the automotive industry.

This breakthrough is expected to lead to increased use of high-performance, low-weight carbon fibre materials for cars and other products. Teijin is currently working with General Motors and other car makers worldwide to develop advanced carbon-fibre composite technologies for the mass production of reduced-weight vehicles.

 Developments at Teijin are being spearheaded by a collaborative effort involving the Teijin Composites Innovation Center, a Japan-based R&D hub for carbon fibre composites business, the Teijin Composites Application Center, a technical facility opened in Michigan, USA in April 2012, and a pilot plant opened in Matsuyama, Japan in December 2012 to test the fully integrated production of CFRTP components.

 The Teijin Group aims to become a global leader in the development of advanced solutions incorporating carbon fiber composites, targeting annual sales of JPY 150 to 200 billion (USD 1.5 to 2.0 billion) by around 2020.