Hexcel and Arkema have announced that they will open a joint research and development laboratory in Les Avenieres in France, in April.
This follows the companies’ announcement in March 2018 that they were forming a strategic alliance to develop thermoplastic composite solutions for the aerospace sector, combining the expertise of Hexcel in carbon fibre and Arkema in PEEK.
The companies’ objective at the new laboratory is to develop carbon fibre-reinforced thermoplastic prepreg tapes to enable lightweight parts to be produced for future generations of aircraft.
These solutions will provide lightweight and cost effective technologies including faster production cycles for customers in the aerospace and the space and defence sectors.
Thanks to Hexcel and Arkema’s close collaboration, an initial industrial pilot line will be installed in the new lab in the coming weeks.
The companies expect to start supply carbo/thermoplastic UD tapes from this pilot line to customers for evaluation beginning in the third quarter of 2019.