Prepare for take-off if carbon fibre lands here
BENEATH the roaring engines, spectacular stunts and fireballs that fill the skies, the Avalon International Airshow is all about crystalball gazing.
Every two years, the airshow provides engineers, scientists and petrolheads the chance to examine the latest cutting-edge trends in aviation, aerospace and defence technology.
It’s a great showcase of human ingenuity, and a fantastic drawcard for this region.
On a smaller scale, a simultaneous conference in Geelong this week has examined the future possibilities for carbon fibre, a composite material that features prominently among the machinery on display at the airshow.
The Carbon Fibre Future Directions Conference is timed to coincide with the airshow.
Delegates from hi-tech auto and aero manufacturers and research engineers were among almost 200 hosted by Deakin University’s Carbon Nexus. They discussed possible applications for the lightweight composite fibre and ways to refine the production processes.
Deakin vice chancellor Jane den Hollander helped open the conference, hailing the groundbreaking research being carried out on the Carbon Nexus production lines and detailing a new deal with industry leader DowAksa.
The champions of Geelong’s carbon fibre credentials have been courting DowAksa for several years now.
Two years ago the US/Turkish joint venture spoke openly about a vision to establish its own carbon fibre factory in Geelong.
The agreement revealed this week is a long way short of delivering that outcome, but keeps hopes alive.
DowAksa will provide vital precursor material to Carbon Nexus and team up on research and development projects aimed at finding ways to make carbon fibre more quickly and affordably.
Demand for carbon fibre, which is light in weight, strong, versatile and durable, is expected to soar if they can achieve these goals.
“The thing holding carbon fibre back from being used massively in industries like automotive is cost and speed of production, so one of the things Carbon Nexus is helping all of us in the industry work on is ‘How do we drive down the cost of manufacturing?’ and ‘How do we make parts faster?’,” said Tony Frencham, Australian managing director of DowAksa’s parent company Dow.
“If you start to break some of those (barriers) you’ll have carbon fibre start to turn up in all sorts of places where traditional materials have been used in the past.”
DowAksa board member Mustafa Yilmaz said the company would test market demand for carbon fibre in Australia before it considered advancing its commitment to Geelong beyond the agreement it has formalised with Carbon Nexus.
But, as Mr Frencham pointed out, the city’s efforts to nurture Australia’s burgeoning carbon fibre industry created hope for the future.
“What Deakin and Carbon Nexus are doing ... is creating an ecosystem here around carbon fibre,” he said.
“My strong expectation would be that if anyone was looking to scale up you would do it here because you’re close to the research and development facilities, and you’re in an environment where you’re getting a lot of support.
“Any discussion of DowAksa doing investment on the ground here ... has to evolve, but if we ever got to that point it’s a natural place for us to land.”