The JEC Innovation Awards ceremony, which took place on the Agora stage on March 7th opened with a presentation by Yves Rossy, aircraft pilot and inventor of the first jet-powered wingpack.
The jury then revealed the names of the composite champions up for a JEC Innovation Award. Eleven winning innovations were chosen, out of the thirty finalists that had been previously selected from more than 100 applications from all over the world.
“JEC Group supports innovation. In 1998, it created the first award dedicated to composites, as a way to promote and reward the sector’s champions. Thanks to the work of JEC Group’s teams, the program has become an international benchmark. Each year, we receive more than a hundred applications from all over the world. Selection is now based on criteria like the level of involvement of the innovation’s partners in the value chain, the technical nature of the innovation, or its commercial applications,” explained JEC Group president & CEO Frédérique Mutel.
A new feature this year was that the jury revealed the winners during the ceremony, and the public could choose their favourite innovation before, during, and after the ceremony. So, there is still time to vote. Votes are opened until Thursday March 8th, 5pm. http://innovationawards.jec-world.events
11 AWARD WINNERS
AEROSPACE APPLICATION
Winner: AeroComposit, JSC (Russia) and its partner Solvay (UK)
Infusion technology for an aircraft wing
The use of infusion technology to manufacture primary structural components for an aircraft wing. The technology makes it possible to create extra-long, integrated composite structures with complex aerodynamic shapes.
AEROSPACE PROCESS - two tied winners!
Winner: Airbus (Germany) and its partners, BMW Group (Germany), Technical University of Munich (TUM) (Germany), Neue Materialien Bayreuth GmbH (Germany), Werkzeugbau Siegfried Hofmann (Germany), BASF SE (Germany), Foldcore (Germany), Neenah Filtration (Germany) and SGL Carbon (Germany)
Complex structural applications for MAI sandwich technology
Cost-effective production of a complex 2.5D structure made of thermoplastic composite sandwich, with very short cycle times: under 5 minutes for aerospace materials and 2.5 minutes for automotive materials.
Winner: M. Torres Diseños Industriales SAU (Spain)
Mouldless process to manufacture one-piece parts
A new manufacturing process for oversized one-piece reinforced composite structures, without requiring the use of complete moulds.
AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATION
Winner: Ford Werke (Germany) and its partners, Gestamp (UK), GRM Consulting (UK) and University of Warwick (UK)
Lightweight composite automotive suspension part
Structural suspension part made of lightweight composite, using a brand-new patented process for prepreg/SMC/steel overmolding that was designed using a new computer-aided engineering (CAE) technology.
AUTOMOTIVE PROCESS
Winner: Audi (Germany) and its partners, Voith Composites (Germany), Dow Automotive (Switzerland), and Zoltek Corp. (US)
Series production of a rear panel module made of carbon composite
For the first time, the potential of CFRP is used to full advantage in series production with a new rear panel module and cost-effective production technologies.
CONSTRUCTION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Winner: Komatsu Seiren Co. (Japan) and its partners, Kanazawa Institute of Technology (Japan) and Nagase ChemteX Corporation (Japan)
Cabkoma cable made of CFRTP
Komatsu Seiren has developed a cable made of moulded carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP), using a very cost-effective process that consists in polymerizing a thermoplastic epoxy resin in situ.
MARINE
Winner: Uljanik JSC (Croatia)
Composite cargo decks for a vehicle carrier
On the SIEM Cicero, a vehicle carrier with a capacity of 7,000 vehicles, glass-fibre reinforced composites are used for a number of the structures for the cargo decks, thereby considerably reducing the ship’s weight, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
RAILWAY
Winner: ELG Carbon Fibre. (UK) and its partners, Alstom Transport (UK), Magma Structures (UK), the University of Birmingham (UK), and the University of Huddersfield (UK)
A bogie frame made of optimized lightweight carbon fibre
This project has developed the very first carbon-fibre bogie frame that uses a recycled material, making it possible to overcome the obstacles to a commercial adoption of this type of structure.
SPORTS & LEISURE
Winner: BMW Group (Germany) and its partners EDAG Engineering (Germany), KraussMaffei Technologies (Germany), Chr. Karl Siebenwurst (Germany), TUM-LCC (Germany), Automation W + R (Germany), and FHG-IGCV (Germany)
A modular construction system for the rear swing arm suspension of a motorcycle
A modular system to produce a complex-shape swing arm suspension reinforced with carbon fibre. The system can adjust the mechanical properties on a case-by-case basis, for a competitive cost and weight compared to metal solutions.
SMART CITIES
Winner: MC Materiales Compuestos (Argentina) and its partners, Plaquimet (Argentina), Purcom (Brazil), IS Groupe - Composite Integrity (France), and G12 Innovation (Brazil)
The Wet Core Pod composite housing module
The Wet Core Pod is a composite housing module with an industrialization potential that can facilitate the most complex, costly and difficult step in a construction project.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Winner: Cetim-Cermat (France) and its partner, CETIM (France)
“3-in-1” line for producing recycled composites
A modular line that uses an innovative thermomechanical process to make large panels from recycled composites or plastics. The panels are then thermoformed into parts.