Life cycle assessment of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP)
Carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP), which have a substantial potential for saving weight and whose use can therefore be an important lever in reducing fuel consumption are particularly important. However, the production of CFRP is very expensive in energy terms and current production processes still have large material losses in some areas. The high environmental costs of production are counteracted within the scope of vehicle use by weight savings and associated lower fuel consumption.
Against this background, working on behalf of the Fraunhofer IGCV within the scope of the BMBF-funded research project MAI Enviro 2.0, bifa analysed the life cycle assessment of current and future CFRP lightweight construction methods, including their use in the automotive sector.
The central finding of the work conducted was that, compared to fuel savings in vehicle use, the production of CFRP components offers greater potential for improving the climate and resources balance. The use of renewable energy sources in the manufacture and introduction of new production technologies, e.g. for fibre and load path-compatible component design, are of particular importance.
Guidelines with energy efficiency, life cycle assessment and cost analyses performed within the scope of MAI Envio 2.0 are planned for publication in the autumn 2017.