Post on 20-May-2020
MAKING CARBON FIBER MORE ACCESSIBLE TO MORE INDUSTRIES
@VartegaCFR
Mobility
Wind Energy
Aerospace Sporting Goods
3D Printing
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Sheet Metal
Raw Material
Parts Scrap
© 2019 Vartega Inc
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Raw Material Prepreg
Parts Scrap
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Large Scrap Rates Manufacturing scrap rates
are > 30% Source: Plastics Today Dec, 2018 /
Composites World, 2016
Opportunity - Carbon Fiber Recycling
It’s Expensive Aerospace grade is $45/lb.
No Substantive Recycling
Only 2% of material is recycled – balance is landfill
Strong Market Growth
CF material market is growing at 11% CAGR
(Source: RECYCLING OF CARBON FIBRE COMPOSITES, 2016 – Turner & Pickering)
© 2019 Vartega Inc
“Recycling composites will eventually be as commonplace as recycling aluminum and titanium," - Kevin Bartelson, Boeing's 777
wing operations leader. Dec, 2018
95% less energy / 50% lower cost
High-efficiency, low-cost post-industrial carbon fiber recycling
Vartega’s Solution
Fiber Prepreg Composite
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Proprietary Technology Four patents pending
Zero waste process
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Quality Assurance: Before & After
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Vartega Process & Product – Adaptability
Vartega Process
Uncured thermoset epoxy
Other uncured Thermosets (vinyl ester, BMI, etc. )
Thermoplastic matrix
Cured composites
Feeding Bulk / Bundle:
Density & Integrity
Chemistry Sizing
Selection & Weight
Format Fiber /
AgglomerateLength &
Distribution Fiber
Properties Fiber type (SM, IM…) & Shape
Resin Byproduct In Production
Future
Factors Major Competitors Vartega
Process Thermal Chemical
Unit Production Cost High Low
Energy Usage High Low
Greenhouse Gas Emissions High Low
Material Integrity & Consistency Varies Consistent Results
Feedstock Changeover Time Days Hours
Byproduct Revenue None Resin Sales
Distributed Manufacturing - Modular Units None - Capital Intensive Low Cost / Scalable
Competitive Analysis
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Commercial Product
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Applications Additive Manufacturing / Compression Molding / Injection Molding
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Today • 104 models specified with OEM CFRP • Average CF cost $ 8 – 10 /lb.
Tomorrow • 72M pounds per year by 2025 • Average CF cost w/ recycling $ 5 – 6 /lb.
Market Impact - Mobility
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Value Chain & Market Strategy
Recycled Chopped CF
(Tier 3) CF Scrap Waste
Unfilled Thermoplastic
(Tier 3)
CF Filled Thermoplastic
(Tier 2)
Thermoplastic Part Producer
(Tier 1)
Final Assembly (OEM)
© 2019 Vartega Inc
6.20 Closing the Loop on Automotive Carbon Fiber Prepreg Manufacturing Scrap
Team: Vartega, Michelman, CSM, UDRI, ORNL, UTK, MSU with Plasan, Ford and BASF as sponsors Technical Area: Material and Process Type: Technical Collaboration – 24 months Budget: $1,0447,560 ($644,260 industry) Status: In-progress
• Challenge: Carbon fiber has found limited use in automotive applications due, in large part, to the high material cost and the labor-intensive nature of typical composite manufacturing processes.
• Approach: Vartega Inc has developed a chemistry-based recycling process for uncured carbon fiber prepreg manufacturing scrap. Recycled carbon fiber can be made available at lower cost than virgin fiber. In addition, the discontinuous form of recycled material is suitable for higher throughput manufacturing processes such as injection molding.
• Impact: Low-cost recycled carbon fiber will aid in reducing overall CFRP cost and embodied energy while substantially increasing composite recyclability and reducing the prepreg scrap waste stream. Low-cost recycled carbon fiber will be utilized in vehicle light weighting applications to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions.
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Post Industrial Scrap Recycling
© 2019 Vartega Inc
BEFORE carbon fiber/resin
prepreg scrap from manufacturing
AFTER resin matrix
removed from carbon fiber
Fiber Consolidation
Recycled carbon fiber optimized for thermoplastic compounding
• Fiber length
• Surface chemistry
• Bundle format
• Feedability
• Interfacial adhesion
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Compounding & Molding
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Recycled carbon fiber nylon fender
• 10 weight % recycled carbon fiber
• 40% is final target
• Excellent surface finish
• Class A target
• High performance
• Significant Weight Reduction
Upcycling Thermoplastics
© 2019 Vartega Inc
No data
Recycled PA6 – Injection Mold
Confidential © 2019 Vartega Inc
PP – Injection Mold
© 2019 Vartega Inc
No data
Extruded Sheet
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Photo credit: UMAINE & CNAM
Compression Mold or Thermoform
Recycled PA6 – Extruded Sheet
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Bio PA11 – Extruded Sheet
No data
© 2019 Vartega Inc
~100 ton per year plant (Colorado) Input
168 tons of prepreg feedstock @ 65% CF
Output 40 pounds per hour x
24 hours per day x 250 days per year
= 109 tons of recycled carbon fiber +
59 tons of recovered resin per year
*Modular design can be expanded to meet growing demand
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Minimizes waste burden and enables closed-loop recycling to reduce costs and improve supply chain management. Recycled carbon fiber has known pedigree and traceability for use in price-sensitive applications.
Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS) - On-site Recycling
© 2019 Vartega Inc
FACILITY IN MICHIGAN! © 2019 Vartega Inc
Impact Proforma
*Source – Vartega calcs and US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Value Proposition for Our Partners
Collaboration results in: • Waste reduction and cost savings • Co-marketing emerging technology • Priority rights for new product development • Rapid deployment of materials solutions • Leveraging world class facilities and equipment
through the AMIDE Alliance
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Thank you! www.vartega.com info@vartega.com
844-827-8342
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Andrew Maxey andrew@vartega.com
844-827-8342
© 2019 Vartega Inc
MAKING CARBON FIBER MORE ACCESSIBLE TO MORE INDUSTRIES
@VartegaCFR
APPENDIX
© 2019 Vartega Inc
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Supply Chain
Recycled PA6 – Injection Mold
© 2019 Vartega Inc
PP – Injection Mold
© 2019 Vartega Inc
No data
Recycled PA6 – Extruded Sheet
© 2019 Vartega Inc
© 2019 Vartega Inc
Bio PA11 – Extruded Sheet