Lansing-based XG Sciences and Michigan State University (MSU) researchers have developed a composite material that could help automakers increase fuel efficiency.
The new nanocomposite, called xGnP Graphene Nanoplatelets, is added to sheet molding compound (SMC) to make it stronger, tougher and electrically conductive. It also makes sheet molding lighter, and a lighter car can increase fuel efficiency, says Michael Knox with XG Sciences.
President Barack Obama recently announced a plan to increase fuel efficiency by more than five percent per year starting in 2012. This new technology could help obtain that goal.
“The way to get better fuel mileage out of a car includes several things,” Knox says. “You can make the engine more efficient or drive with electricity. They main thing they (auto manufacturers) look at is ways to lighten the vehicle. If it’s lighter, it needs less power.”
When roughly three percent of the new material is added to the standard SMC formula, the resulting composite is 40 percent stronger, 20 percent stiffer and has 80 percent better impact strength.
The sheet-molding compound can be used in pretty much anything that’s made out of plastic, but since the Capital region is heavily tied to the auto industry, it’s a natural fit that it would be used in that industry.
While MSU has been researching this technology for eight to 10 years, Knox says this particular sheet-molding compound has been underway for about a year. Sheet molding companies have already showed interest in the product.
XG Sciences is a start-up company that develops and produces materials based on graphene nanoplatelets.
Source: Laura Seeley, MSU College of Engineering
Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.
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