Northwich, UK-based composites processing technology specialist Cygnet Texkimp has partnered with Viritech, a Nuneaton-headquartered developer of high-performance hydrogen powertrain solutions for the automotive industry, to recover high-value, continuous carbon fibres from hydrogen pressure vessels.

The two companies worked together within the FCVGen2.0 consortium which is led by Ford and part-funded by the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC). The consortium was brought together to design, build and trial a small fleet of hydrogen fuel-cell powered Ford E-Transits that maximise value for fleets with high daily energy demands and zero emissions ambitions. One of its objectives is to develop and evaluate a viable recycling route for end-of-life fuel tank components that maintain the properties of recycled fibre and develop uses for it.

The partnership harnessed Cygnet Texkimp’s fibre recovery system to develop a workable strategy and the technical capability to reclaim maximum value from carbon fibre hydrogen tanks at the end of their useable life and reuse them in new applications.

The system, which complements Cygnet Texkimp’s filament winding, has been developed to recover continuous, high-quality carbon fibres from filament-wound parts and present them in convenient, bobbin-wound formats for reuse in the manufacture of composites.

Cygnet Texkimp’s technology was used to recover carbon fibres from a novel nano-infused, resin-based material system which is being developed by Viritech as part of the project to create pressure vessels that achieve optimum efficiency in manufacture and operation, while also being readily recyclable.

Viritech’s graphene nanomaterial was successfully processed at Cygnet Texkimp’s Innovation Centre using the Deecom composites recycling solution, which applies cyclic pressured, superheated steam to separate fibres from their polymer matrix. The reclaimed fibres were then mechanically unwound and rewound onto bobbins ready to be reused in conventional applications.

Continuous fibres

Currently, recycled carbon fibre is typically processed in short lengths and applications are limited to chopped fibre for SMC (sheet moulding compound), or, with further processing, fillers and pellets for use in injection moulding and fibre reinforced plastics. With the technology to recover and unwind continuous fibres, manufacturers will be able to use recycled fibre as a direct alternative to virgin fibre in many more applications including filament winding, pultrusion, weaving, UD prepreg and towpreg.

“Our partnership with Viritech demonstrates the potential for hydrogen tanks to be recycled at a meaningful rate,” said Dr Yan Liu, senior research and development specialist at Cygnet Texkimp, who led the project. “This is significant because it supports the automotive industry’s work to achieve true circularity in the manufacture of filament-wound parts by recovering fibres in a way that’s convenient for their reuse and maximises their potential ongoing value.

“Our fibre recovery system closes the loop between the Deecom fibre recycling solution and our extensive filament winding capability and provides end-to-end processing and recycling capability for composite fibres.”

“Our collaboration with Cygnet Texkimp has enabled us to generate important data and learnings and incorporate them back into our design to ensure that our pressure vessels are readily recyclable in terms of materials and construction,” added Simon Willis, chief technology officer at Viritech

The two companies are also working together to further develop the filament winding technology for the sustainable manufacturing and recycling of hydrogen pressure vessels.

www.viritech.co.uk

www.cygnet-texkimp.com