Strong, Light Car Parts Made With Wood Pulp Could Soon Be A Thing

Researchers in Japan are infusing plastics with 'cellulose nanofibers', resulting in a material five times as strong as steel
Strong, Light Car Parts Made With Wood Pulp Could Soon Be A Thing

If you contemplate the usage wood in the construction of cars, you’ll no doubt have something like an ash-framed Morgan in your mind, perhaps some posh pieces of trim on the inside of a posh saloon, or maybe some bizarre creation seen on Top Gear/The Grand Tour (above). However, a group of Japanese researchers have a rather different application in mind.

It’s all about cellulose nanofibers, reports Reuters. This is made using chemically-treated wood pulp, which is broken down into several hundredths of a micron. The nanofibres are then “neaded” into plastics. The result is a material that is five times as strong as steel, yet weighs only a fifth as much.

Sounds rather interesting, but it will be a while before the material - the work of researchers at Kyoto University - becomes viable. It currently costs around £7 per kg to produce, compared to about £1.50 per kg for steel. Carbonfibre on the other hand is set to drop to under £8 per kg by 2025.

Strong, Light Car Parts Made With Wood Pulp Could Soon Be A Thing

Research leader Hiroyuki Yano reckons the cost of the cellulose nanofiber material should be halved by 2030, making it a viable alternative to the likes of carbonfibre and aluminium. It’d presumably also be competing with the recycled carbonfibre material currently used in the BMW i3 and i8 (above) plus the Zenos E10 range, which can be produced at a tenth of the cost of ‘virgin’ CF.

Lightweight materials are going to become much more prevalent in car construction in the next few decades, as manufacturers look to drop the weight of their vehicles to reduce emissions, as well as offset the installation of bulky battery cells.

We’ll be watching the work of Yano and his team with interest…

Comments

Anonymous

Now every car can become a Ferrari!

08/16/2017 - 11:54 |
116 | 2
Jefferson Tan(日産)

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Damn savage my dude

08/16/2017 - 13:22 |
5 | 1
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Savage level: over 9000xd

08/16/2017 - 14:43 |
1 | 1
Strong, Light Car Parts Made With Wood Pulp Could Soon Be A Thing
Miata Antonio

MORGAN INTENSIFIES

08/16/2017 - 11:56 |
14 | 2
Anonymous

Morgan be like: “Amateurs, we already make our car chassis out of wood!”

08/16/2017 - 12:01 |
39 | 1
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

True! xD

08/16/2017 - 13:34 |
6 | 4
Disklok

Coming Soon: Disklok Wood Edition

08/16/2017 - 12:06 |
50 | 3

How hard it is?
How fireproof it is?

08/16/2017 - 12:07 |
18 | 1
Tomislav Celić

I read the article 3 times,

And I still don’t know WTF am I supposed to comment

08/16/2017 - 12:26 |
1 | 3

Comment wtf then

08/16/2017 - 13:00 |
3 | 0
Anonymous

I remember companies doing this to make decks.
That is how they do it in one close to my place.

08/16/2017 - 13:20 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Coming up next: Legal clay automobiles!

08/16/2017 - 13:38 |
24 | 1
H5SKB4RU (Returned to CT)

This is the kind of progress i want to see, not autopiloting cars or nanny cars with thousands of driving aids

08/16/2017 - 14:43 |
14 | 0
André 🇳🇴 (rÃ¥nersquad) (subaru) (gf4) (

In reply to by H5SKB4RU (Retu…

Totally agreed

08/16/2017 - 14:48 |
3 | 0
André 🇳🇴 (rÃ¥nersquad) (subaru) (gf4) (

Toyota is allways ahead…

08/16/2017 - 14:48 |
22 | 1
superboyy95

There’s already illegal hemp tho

08/16/2017 - 14:55 |
5 | 0

I saw it, but lately i realized it wasnt as strong as they said. It worked mostly like hard plastic

08/16/2017 - 15:02 |
1 | 0

Topics

Sponsored Posts