MEDIA RELEASE
19 December 2023
Carbon Revolution, a global technology company and Tier 1 OEM (original equipment manufacturer) supplier, has partnered with Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) to revolutionise the production of carbon fibre wheels.
The collaboration is part of the Australian Composites Manufacturing CRC (ACM CRC, formerly SoMAC CRC) project which aims to make Australia a leader in composite technologies with an advanced and automated network of designers, manufacturers and service providers.
Dr Steve Gower, CEO of ACM CRC, praises Carbon Revolution’s capabilities in advanced composites manufacturing. He explains, “Carbon Revolution provides a great example of Australian capabilities in advanced composites manufacturing. ACM CRC is proud to support our partners Carbon Revolution and Deakin University to develop product and process technologies to support the expansion of manufacturing capabilities for Carbon Revolution’s single-piece carbon fibre wheels.”
Carbon Revolution has already established itself as the recognised leader in the production of lightweight carbon fibre wheels for the global automotive industry. The company has progressed from single prototypes to designing and manufacturing wheels at commercial scale for some of the most prestigious brands in the world. With almost 80,000 Carbon Revolution wheels produced, the company has penetrated the performance and premium end of the automotive market with 18 awarded OEM programs for Ford, Ferrari, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover and Renault.
Jake Dingle, CEO and Managing Director of Carbon Revolution, says, “The unsprung weight savings of up to 40%-50% that our wheels relative to the comparable aluminium wheels provide are now delivering results with programs now awarded with six global OEMs; proving that our production capability for carbon fibre wheels is disrupting the automotive wheel market.”
Carbon Revolution is working with researchers from Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials to develop new product and process technologies to support the expansion of manufacturing capabilities for single-piece carbon fibre wheels.
Dr Ashley Denmead, CTO and founder of Carbon Revolution, highlights, “Our close collaboration with research partners such as Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials has made a strong contribution to our team for many years and continues to allow Carbon Revolution to innovate and improve the design and development phases of new wheel programs for our growing list of automotive customers.”
Prof. Russell Varley, the project’s Chief Investigator, expressed his excitement about the collaboration. “Deakin University is excited to be working with Carbon Revolution to develop new product and process technologies for composite wheels for the automotive industry of today and tomorrow,” he says.
The development of carbon fibre wheels is critical to the automotive industry as it helps reduce the mass of vehicles to address fuel economy limits and increase the range of electric vehicles. Carbon fibre wheels reduce weight from up to 40-50% compared to the comparable aluminium wheels, depending on customer geometry expectation and are capable of achieving all OEM validation specification standards.
The ACM CRC program will help Carbon Revolution advance its manufacturing capabilities and product performance. Dr Aaron Brighton, Technology Development Leader at Carbon Revolution, elaborates, “Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) are a great way to bring Industry and Researchers together leveraging resources, expertise and funding to advance Australian business and Industry. ACM CRC is key to Carbon Revolution advancing its manufacturing capabilities and product performance.”
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MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Dr Aaron Brighton
Technology Development Leader
Carbon Revolution
Tel: +61 402 090 563
Email: aaron.brighton@carbonrev.com
The Australian Composites Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (ACM CRC)
ACM CRC, formerly SoMAC CRC, commenced operations in January 2023. Australia is entering a decade of transformation with the arrival of intelligent manufacturing automation and the emergence of new high-value industries. Bringing together 33 partners under a $250 million program, ACM CRC will address these opportunities and strengthen the current industry with digital-export-ready, cost-competitive, high-quality platform capability. Its vision is to transform Australia’s established composite technologies capability into sovereign leadership, creating a world-class, highly automated, digitally enabled, network of designers, manufacturers, and service providers. In doing so, ACM CRC will underpin the next generation of manufacturing industry, supporting a forward-looking Australia, including the hydrogen economy, EV cars and buses, space and low-earth-orbit vehicles, onshore and offshore infrastructure, aircraft and the future defence industry, consumer goods including sporting and solar and the recycling industry.
Carbon Revolution
Carbon Revolution is a global technology company and Tier 1 OEM supplier, which has successfully innovated, commercialised and industrialised the supply of lightweight carbon fibre wheels to the global automotive industry. The Company was founded in 2007 with the purpose of bringing disruptive technology to all vehicles. Carbon Revolution has progressed from single prototypes to designing and manufacturing wheels at commercial scale for some of the most prestigious brands in the world. With almost 80,000 Carbon Revolution wheels produced, Carbon Revolution is the recognised leader in the sector. Carbon Revolution has penetrated the performance and premium end of the automotive market with 18 awarded OEM programs for Ford, Ferrari, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover and Renault. Carbon Revolution successfully listed on the Nasdaq (CREV) in New York in November 2023.
Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM)
The Institute for Frontier Materials links world-class materials science research with industry to address challenges in the energy, mining, defence, health, transport, textiles and manufacturing sectors. IFM is a trusted partner for 130 innovative organisations across the globe who want to access the best and brightest minds in material science and the institute’s suite of pilot-scale research facilities, including Carbon Nexus, the world’s largest open-access carbon fibre research and manufacturing centre.
CRC Program
The Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program is an Australian Government initiative that was established in 1990 and funds industry-led collaborations between industry, researchers, and end users. The Program links researchers with industry and government with a focus towards research application. Innovation and Science Australia and its CRC Advisory Committee provide strategic oversight of the CRC Program.