Philippe Michaud, Global Technology and Innovation Director, Huntsman Advanced Materials
"Bio-derived Composites Can Penetrate the Mass Fibre and Carbon Fibre Markets"
Huntsman Advanced Materials is a leading global supplier of synthetic and formulated
polymer systems for customers requiring high performance materials which outperform
the properties, functionality and durability of traditional materials. In an exclusive
interview Philippe Michaud, Global Technology and Innovation Director, Huntsman
Advanced Materials shares his experience with Editor, Lucintel, K.
Venkateshwar. Rao. Excerpts:
1. What are the key drivers for composites consumption?
Philippe Michaud: There is one key driver making composites the
material of choice for an increasing number of applications; its lightweight properties.
Additional benefits, that differ from industry to industry, also lead to the selection
of composites. In the aerospace industry for example, the usage of composites for
the fuselage is a driving factor for reducing fuel consumption while creating better
passenger comfort through higher humidity and pressure in the cabin. Whilst in the
automotive industry, achieving styling flexibility is a key factor alongside the
all important objective of enhancing the power to weight ratio in the production
of performance cars and the electric cars of the not too distant future.
Other growth drivers include the ability to replace multiple parts made from various
materials with one piece composite components. This minimizes parts handling and
assembly operations, creating significant time and cost savings, whilst yielding
much more flexibility in design. You can build parts with composite materials that
you simply cannot build with other materials and these materials have to be lightweight,
otherwise you will not be able to meet the needs of the main adopters.
2. What are some of the key challenges faced by Your Companies in the composites
market?
Philippe Michaud: New composites applications frequently entail
new product development and or new part manufacturing processes. The challenge lies
in offering an integrated solution to our customers which encompasses both chemistry
and process engineering technology. Requirements ‘capture’ lies at the front end
of the new product development cycle. At this stage it’s vitally important to glean
a thorough understanding of an engineer’s requirements in order to translate this
into a viable solution capable of achieving commercial success through properties
and cost optimisation.
3. Tell us about the impact of government policies on the composites industry.
Philippe Michaud: Within the automotive industry, the targets and
policy statements introduced by governments to lower emissions and foster greater
energy (fuel or electricity) efficiency has created a global push towards greater
composites usage. Carbon fibre composite technology is now firmly placed within
the lightweight construction strategies of many of the major car manufacturers (i.e.
BMW recently unveiled its composite intensive Megacity vehicle, an all-electric
passenger car). Lightweight materials and structures are opening up opportunities
for low emission vehicles and delivering optimised designs without making compromises
on style or function. Current legislation demands improved environmental performance
and this has presented a wealth of opportunity for new ideas and innovations concerning
the use of composites across the entire supply chain.
4. What are the key challenges faced by composite end-users?
Philippe Michaud: The greater focus being placed on product life
cycle assessment (from cradle to grave) has brought attention to composites recycling.
Whilst composites provide valuable environmental savings during their life, the
life of materials lying in landfills is almost infinite. Recycling is not an easy
process as most composite products are manufactured with thermoset resins such as
epoxy or vinyl ester. However, a better solution needs to be found to recover valuable
reinforced fibres and to reduce the environmental impact caused by the disposal
of waste over time.
5. Is Government support and policy change required to encourage exports of composite
components?
Philippe Michaud: Lightweight composites have been placed in the
limelight due to their propensity to support lowered emissions. As a result, we
continue to see high levels of support from the EU and investment in composite development
related projects, especially in the aerospace industry. Huntsman is an active partner
in challenging research projects funded by the EU, such as PreCarBi and Laysa. The
PreCarBi project is focusing on the development of new materials for out-of-autoclave
parts manufacturing for faster and cheaper parts production, while the Laysa project
is aimed at replacing heavy metal conductive elements for fuselage shielding by
lightweight solutions.
6. What emerging applications do you foresee having a significant bearing on composites
consumption?
Philippe Michaud: Whilst currently in the early stages of development,
we believe bio-derived composites have the potential to take on the mass fibre market
and to even penetrate the carbon market. Green materials (bio-derived chemicals
and/or natural fibres) offer potential for a reduced environmental footprint, greater
sustainability and lower costs, providing advantages for an increased number of
diverse applications from sports goods to automotive parts and electronics
7. How has global slowdown affected the market? How has your organisation's growth
in the last 2-3 years been and how do you foresee growth moving forwards?
Philippe Michaud: Like all major suppliers, we have seen the effects
of the global slowdown, which has been particularly noticeable in the aerospace
industry. However, there is every sign that economic recovery is getting underway.
According to the International Monetary Fund, in the first quarter of 2010 the world
economy expanded at an annualised rate of over 5% and strong growth was seen in
many emerging and developing economies.
8. Do you see high potential for composites in the market? If yes, what are the
reasons for this?
Philippe Michaud: Today, it is actually hard to find an industry
in which composites are not used. Composites have been adopted across many sectors,
whether in response to government policy on reduced energy consumption and lowered
emissions or to develop and sustain competitive strength, or both. In terms of what
the future holds, if we effectively address the whole lifecycle equation for composites,
we are likely to witness extremely high potential for growth in the composites market.