Hypetex has won a £100,000 Smart Award from Innovate UK to fund research into the development of a white carbon fibre composite.
In the past, carbon fibre has always been black, meaning it either had limited appeal to certain industries or had to be painted over – adding weight and losing its aesthetic appeal.
Hypetex has pioneered a method of incorporating colour into carbon fibre without losing the material’s renowned performance properties.
Developed by Formula One engineers with more than 20 years’ experience of working with carbon fibre, the ultimate goal would be the production of white carbon fibre – suitable for widespread adoption across industries the likes of pharmaceutical, automotive and alternative energy.
CEO of Hypetex, Marc Cohen commented: “We believe Hypetex will transform the way carbon fibre will be used across a range of industries.”
He added: “The grant will be used to help fund our new research to produce white carbon fibre, a process and finish that has never been achieved before.”
The new project follows on from Hypetex’s ground-breaking work with coloured carbon fibre – chosen to appear at the Materials Innovation Showcase at Low Carbon Vehicle (LCV) 2015 exhibition this week.
LCV 2015 will take place at the famous Millbrook Proving Ground for the seventh time, with upwards of 2,500 visitors expected to attend over the two-day event.
More than 180 organisations will be exhibiting products, with over 50 industry experts and leading government officials expected to present lectures.
