Recycled carbon fibres used in rail vehicle project

United Kingdom – ELG Carbon Fibre, a specialist in recycled carbon fibre products, is developing a novel composite bogie frame for use in rail vehicles thanks to its modified pyrolysis process.

The project, for which the UK’s RSSB (Rail Safety Standards Board) has awarded a grant of £ 1.25 million (Euro 1.4 million) aims to both reduce weight and optimise vertical and transverse stiffness in order to decrease vehicle operating costs, infrastructure damage, energy consumption as well as limiting the environmental impact.

The two-year programme will conclude in the last quarter of next year, and will be delivered by a consortium of companies comprising CCT, the University of Birmingham, and the University of Huddersfield.

ELG Carbon Fibre is an expert in ‘sustainable lightweighting’ for the entire transportation industry. The company was formed through an acquisition in 2011. It has built one of the world’s first and largest carbon fibre recycling plants in Coseley, West Midlands.