The Tucana project is a four-year programme to make the UK a world leader in low-carbon technology, helping prevent 4.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions between 2023 and 2032 by accelerating mainstream use of electric vehicles and making vehicles lighter to both decrease tailpipe emissions and reduce the energy consumption of electrified powertrains.

The research will allow Jaguar Land Rover to develop lightweight vehicle and powertrain structures by replacing aluminium and steel with composites capable of handling the increased torque generated by high-performance batteries while improving efficiency and reducing CO2 impact.

The development of new lightweight body structures to complement the latest zero-emissions powertrains will be key as the electrification of our vehicle range continues.

Jaguar Land Rover aims to increase vehicle stiffness by 30 per cent, cut weight by 35kg and further refine the crash safety structure through the strategic use of tailored composites, such as carbon fibre. Reducing the vehicle body weight will allow the fitting of larger batteries with increased range – without impacting CO2 emissions.

Advanced composites offer significant reductions in vehicle weight, and by 2022, Jaguar Land Rover expects to have developed a fleet of prototype Tucana test vehicles.

The consortium, led by Jaguar Land Rover, brings together world-leading academic and industry partners including the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), Expert Tooling & Automation, Broetje-Automation UK, Toray International UK, CCP Gransden and The Centre for Modelling & Simulation (CFMS).

The post Jaguar Land Rover Announces Tucana Advanced Composites Project appeared first on Composites Today.

Aligned with Cytec’s strategic plan to grow its presence in high performance industrial markets, Shane Fleming, Cytec Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer said;

We are excited about this opportunity to develop composite materials for high-volume serial automotive vehicles and are pleased to partner in this initiative with Jaguar Land Rover, which is known for its excellence in technological and design innovations.

There are substantial growth opportunities in the automotive market, including demonstrated demand for cost-effective, composite materials suitable for high-volume production. The use of carbon fiber-based structural composites will play an instrumental role in reducing vehicle weight and greatly lowering CO2 emissions and fuel consumption.

Recent developments in the manufacturing processes surrounding composite mass production particularly in the aerospace sector have increased composite usage by up to 10% and this year we have seen the larger automotive producers aligning themselves with carbon fibre manufactures to find ways to bring mass produce composite products.

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