Aug 24 2007
The Carbon Company – today arranged with the Technical University of Munich to establish a chair for carbon fibers and carbon fiber composites. The Chair has initially been set up for eight years and will be funded by the SGL Group for a total of €4.8 million.
Working in close cooperation with the faculty chairs for mechanical engineering, chemistry, physics and IT, the "SGL Group Chair for Carbon Composites" will be dedicated to the comprehensive analysis of carbon fiber-based materials and their processing as well as construction and calculation procedures. This is intended to generate a deeper understanding of the entire value chain from raw material through carbon fibers and the textile product as well as material through to the finished component.
The Technical University of Munich is an internationally recognized research university that has earned itself an excellent reputation in the worlds of science and business for natural and engineering sciences in particular. By establishing this sponsored chair, the SGL Group and TU Munich are laying the foundation for long-term, interdisciplinary cooperation in the future field of carbon fibers and carbon fiber-reinforced composites. As a result, the Garching research site in Munich will also benefit from a research focus on "Carbon Composites" and a "Center for Carbon Composites" (CfCC).
The world markets for lightweight building materials based on carbon fibers are currently developing extremely quickly. As the only European manufacturer of only eight carbon fiber producers in the world, the SGL Group is further expanding its global position with considerable investments. As part of the structure of the global business of SGL Group’s "Carbon Fibers & Composites" (CFC) Business Unit, which has production facilities in Scotland and the US, a material future area of focus lies in Germany: in-house production of the polyacrylic nitrile raw material (precursor) for carbon fibers at the Kelheim location near Regensburg, which is critical to success, as well as the ongoing and planned investments in carbon fibers and composites at the Meitingen/Augsburg location. SGL Group has also bundled its global R&D activities at its Meitingen site. Setting up a chair at TU Munich in Bavaria is therefore a key component of the corporate strategy of further expanding the SGL Group's R&D activities as part of the local value chain within the Carbon Fibers & Composites Business Unit.