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M A I Carbon

Carbon composites - key technology for Germany

The vision of the M·A·I Carbon cluster in the Munich-Augsburg-Ingolstadt region is to make carbonfibre-reinforced polymers (CFRP) the materials group of the 21st century in order to be able to employ and benefit from their unique lightweight properties on a major industrial scale by 2020. Materials used today, such as steel and aluminium, have reached the limits of their lightweight potential. However, new materials and components made from CFRP require completely new manufacturing and production methods. In order to be able to realise their mass-producible employment for different applications in the future, springboard innovations are required for the entire component life cycle - from material production and manufacturing to recycling.

72 partners, including notable large German corporations and technology leaders in the application sectors automotive engineering, aerospace, mechanical and plant engineering, as well as fibre and semi-finished product manufacturing, are involved in the cluster. They include companies such as Audi, BMW, Eurocopter, Premium AEROTEC, Voith and SGL Carbon. The objective of M·A·I Carbon is to develop its technology leadership in the deployment of CFRP components in mass production.