Toyota, auto alle fibre di carbonio - gz
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By: GZ on Mercoledì 24 Ottobre 2007 02:49
Stock:
SGL CARBON,
Toyota
Una storia molto interessante di Bloomberg sui ^nuovi modelli di auto giapponesi in cui si sostituisce acciaio e alluminio con materiali di fibra di carbonio#http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aFSrkKiAyKAI&refer=home^ che pesano un terzo alleggerendo del 67% l'auto e dato che quasi tutto il consumo di carburante è ovviamente dovuto al peso riducendo in proporzione il consumo di energia. Allo stesso tempo la fibra di carbonio è molto più resistente dell'acciaio, ma ovviamente senza economie di scala per ora è più costosa
La stessa tecnologia viene usata ora anche negli ultimi modelli di aerei da Boeing e EADS dove i materiali di fibra di carbonio risultano quattro volte più resistenti delle leghe di acciaio ora in uso mentre pesano un 40% in meno.
Si stima che se venisse usata in tutto il mondo in tutte le auto, cambion, veicoli e aerei questa tecnologia da sola ridurrebbe della metà il fabbisogno mondiale di petrolio (!) che è dovuto per tre quarti ai veicoli da trasporto i quali consumano in base al proprio peso. Tra parentesi l'adozione di questa tecnologia nella costruzione di auto e aerei dimezzando il consumo di cargurante risolverebbe buona parte dei problemi ambientali
Con il petrolio sugli 80 dollari (e che sfiora i 90 dollari questo mese) e acciaio e alluminio più che triplicati questo dell'uso dei materiali di fibra di carbonio diventa un tema di investimento enorme e ^Toyota#^ è il numero uno per l'auto e Boeing per gli aerei. Il tema di investimento vero però è sui produttori di questo materiale, giapponesi e tedeschi e quelli che ho trovato finora sono saliti negli ultimi 4 anni di circa quattro volte.
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Toyota Cuts Test Car's Weight to Win Sales as Fuel Prices Rise
By Naoko Fujimura and Makiko Kitamura
Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second-biggest automaker, and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. are using carbon fiber and aluminum in experimental vehicles as they develop lightweight cars with high gasoline mileage to win sales.
The 1/X concept hybrid car, which weighs 67 percent less than Toyota's Prius model because of a carbon-fiber body, will be unveiled at this week's Tokyo Motor Show. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans to introduce its i-MiEV Sport, an electric concept car with an aluminum suspension and frame that weighs 120 kilograms (265 pounds) less than if it were made with steel.
Crude oil has surged 42 percent to almost $86 a barrel this year, with U.S. gasoline prices reaching $3.23 a gallon. While sales of pickups and sport-utility vehicles tumbled, lighter vehicles helped Toyota gain customers in the U.S. at the expense of Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., the largest carmaker.
``They are all trying to cut weight,'' said Edwin Merner, who oversees $2 billion as president of Atlantis Investment Research Corp. in Tokyo and owns stocks in car-parts makers. ``With gas prices getting higher, the carmakers are trying to improve mileage with lighter materials or thinner pieces of metal.''
Tokyo Show
Japanese carmakers use the Tokyo Motor Show to highlight technology that may find its way into production, the same way Toyota's 1995 vision of a gas-electric vehicle led to the 1997 Prius hybrid, the world's first commercially produced car that runs on electricity and gasoline...
``Carbon fiber is a technology for the future, but it's going to take years of work before the carmakers can use it for mass production,'' Endo said.
A switch to the material from traditional metals would also mean significant redesigns of auto-assembly facilities and require companies to develop methods to recycle the material, said Honda spokesman Sage Marie.
`Sexy Concept'
``Carbon fiber is a sexy little concept that will reduce the weight, but it would be a very, very expensive proposition,'' said Vivek Vaidya, director at Frost & Sullivan Inc. in Singapore.
The carbon-fiber 1/X could travel 92 miles on a gallon of fuel, based on the Prius's rating of 46 miles a gallon. The 1/X uses half as much fuel as the Prius, Toyota said. The model runs on a blend of ethanol and gasoline and electricity.
Carbon Fiber
Carbon fiber, used in Boeing Co.'s 787 and Airbus SAS's A380 aircraft, is about four times stronger than the traditional material for airplane structures and weighs 40 percent less. Toyota currently only uses the material in Formula One racing.
Anticipating automakers' possible use of carbon fiber, Toray plans to spend about 20 billion yen ($175 million) to build a research center and a plant to make the material for cars.
Toray's sales of auto-related materials may rise almost threefold to 350 billion yen in the year ending March 2016 from 124 billion yen last business year, the company said.
``Toray's plan suggests using carbon fiber in car frames is getting more realistic,'' said Atsushi Kawai, a senior analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. in Tokyo.
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