Carbon-fibre future for Aussie industry

Yesterday's announcement of a 'wet spinning line' at Waurn Ponds, near Geelong, marks a new phase in local manufacturing, according to partners CSIRO and Deakin University.

The new facility can produce carbon fibre on an industrial scale, making Australia one of the few places in the world that can work with and develop the lightweight material to take it in new directions. Frequently used in automotive and aerospace applications, carbon fibre not only delivers weight savings, it's also strong and resistant to chemical reactions.

It's little known, but carbon fibre varies in its chemical structure from one manufacturer to the next. CSIRO and Deakin researchers have created a new type of carbon fibre compound that the researchers claim could be the next big thing in materials technology. Applied CSIRO patents could lead to a new strain of carbon fibre that will be stronger still, and will meet or even exceed the quality assurance demands of industry in the future.

"This facility means Australia can carry out research across the whole carbon fibre value chain: from molecules, to polymers, to fibre, to finished composite parts," says Director of CSIRO Future Industries, Dr Anita Hill.

"Together with Deakin, we've created something that could disrupt the entire carbon fibre manufacturing industry."

A wet spinning line is production equipment that converts 'precursor' chemical compounds into 500 individual strands, each one of which is thinner than a human hair. The strands are spooled up as a tape and transferred to carbonisation ovens where the production process is concluded.

Built by an Italian firm to CSIRO's own design, the production equipment impressed the manufacturer to such an extent that it built a duplicate of the design for its own use. The design has come to be described as "the Ferrari of wet spinning lines".

The partnership between CSIRO and Deakin University has been formalised for this latest development, although the two august bodies have worked together in the past.

"Our two organisations share a long-standing and distinguished bond, one that our new Strategic Relationship Agreement (SRA) deepens even further," says Deakin University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jane den Hollander.

"Together, we're conducting industry focussed research with a profound and lasting impact, from the communities we serve, through to the world."

Geelong has been steadily moving from being a traditional manufacturing base – following the closure of the Ford engine plant late last year – to new-tech production with export potential. At least some of that turn-around is due in no small part to the support of Ford itself, as well as government at state and federal levels.

"This is a great example of how collaboration in the Australian research sector can accelerate research, lead innovation and provide new job opportunities," said the federal government's Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science the Honourable Craig Laundy.

"Geelong already has a global reputation for industrial innovation. Initiatives such as this enhance that standing."