Current Developments and Trends in the Composites Market: Interview with Dr. Elmar Witten, Managing Director of AVK

Experts from research, associations and industry meet regularly at the Fraunhofer IFAM for two days at the Bremen Composite Days to inform themselves about news from the field of fiber composite technology, to cultivate old contacts and to make new ones. On the occasion of this year's Bremen Composite Days Dr. Elmar Witten, Managing Director of AVK - Industrievereinigung Verstärkte Kunststoffe e. V. gave a lecture on "Current developments and trends in the composites market". We took the opportunity to ask him about the market situation for fibre-reinforced plastics (FRP), AVRP's association work and the importance of further training for the FRP sector. In an interview, he also dares to give an outlook on possible new areas of application for composites in the near future.

 

Dr. Witten, one often hears the sentence "Composites, this is a new material" - what bothers you about this saying? Do fiber-reinforced plastics have an image problem?

No, composites do not have a bad image on the market - on the contrary. Unlike other types of plastics that have to deal with issues such as marine pollution, fiber-reinforced plastics have a positive image. In the context of composites, terms such as "high-performance material" are more likely to be heard, which certainly has to do with their frequent use in special areas of the transport, sports and leisure industries. What I have to correct again and again, however, is the impression that composites are "new materials". In fact, fiber-reinforced composites are almost one hundred years old. I suppose that the reputation has arisen because the emergence of carbon and its use for structural components in the automotive industry has given many laypeople the impression that: "Man, there are completely new materials being used. As early as the 1960s, fiber-reinforced composites were used in series production in automobiles. Nevertheless, some composites are unfortunately still relatively unknown materials. Many users do not even know that they can use fiber-reinforced plastics for their specific applications.

 

What are you doing as an association, together with members like the Fraunhofer IFAM, to change this?

AVK has been active since 1924 - we see its main tasks in providing factual information on fiber-reinforced plastics and creating greater awareness for the material and its properties in industry. In addition, we provide information about possible areas of application and potential of composites. We try to do this with the help of events, trade fairs, lectures and, above all, through continuous activities in our working groups in which our members come together. In addition, we regularly collect market data and make evaluations of our member surveys freely available. However, the active exchange with members such as the Fraunhofer IFAM and other composites experts, for example at the Bremer Faserverbundtage, is very important. That's why I was very happy to give a lecture here.

 

What role can and must continuing education play here?

One instrument to make the FVK better known on the market is without doubt continuing education. A lack of knowledge about the materials means that they are often not even considered as a serious alternative. As AVK, we ourselves offer seminars on composites, but offers such as those offered by the Training Center for Fiber Composite Technology at the Fraunhofer IFAM are also important in this context. If people are informed about advanced training, what the materials can do and how they should be processed, which processes have to be used and in what way, and how to proceed in the application as a whole, then this helps to further the acceptance of composites.

 

AVK has been observing the market situation for composites in Europe for decades. Before we get to the current developments, a brief classification: How "important" is the HVAC market in contrast to materials such as concrete, steel, plastic or aluminium?

In terms of volume alone, the composites market is a relatively small market compared to competing materials. It is clear that the gigantic production volumes of concrete or steel, for example, will not reach composites. But this has nothing to do with the importance of the material. The market is extremely agile, the growth rates are high: the worldwide increase in the total production volume of composites has been 5-10% annually for some years. We are also noticing the increase in importance in the industries that are supplied with composite components: For example, FVK's share in automotive construction and other application areas is rising continuously. The CFRP market, in particular, has recently been subject to strong growth.

 

Apropos CFRP: In recent years there has been a real hype about carbon in particular. Why was this so and does this perceived attention do justice to the actual significance?

The word "hype" does indeed hit the nail on the head. But in my opinion the wave of enthusiasm has subsided in the meantime - the hype is over. It was triggered because carbon provides other mechanical properties for the components than glass. For this reason, carbon components can be used for structural applications in which glass cannot be used. Imagine the carbon passenger cell of the BMW i3: This is a component that could not have been made of GRP in this way. Or certain mounting systems for wind turbine blades, where only CFRP can be used. The same could be said of applications in aircraft construction, for example. These are all examples where carbon is an absolute must. But apart from such lighthouse projects, the CFRP market remains a niche market, which is certainly also due to the cost factor. The market development is dynamic and exciting, but in very special application areas, where the material is irreplaceable. The reality is that around 95% of the globally produced quantity of composites is GRP, and around 1% is CFRP.

 

When we're already on an inventory: Which countries and industries are currently driving the European composites market?

First of all, it should be emphasized: The composites industry is and will remain a supplier industry, which naturally makes the market dependent on overall economic development. As far as the current main areas of application for FRP components are concerned, a glance at the current figures from Europe reveals a familiar picture: About one third of production is used in the transport sector. This includes automotive and aviation, but also commercial and rail vehicle construction. A further third of the composites produced are used in the construction and infrastructure sectors, for example pipes, but also facade solutions and tanks. This area in particular will continue to be promising in the future. Looking at the production volumes in the various European countries, Germany has been the European leader in recent years: annual production volume growth here is higher than the average for Europe in recent years. Especially when it comes to innovative solutions and automated production processes, Germany is very well positioned by European standards.

 

You survey your members regularly. How can we summarize the current mood in the composites industry and the assessment of the growth drivers of the future?

As far as matrix systems are concerned, thermoplastic materials are on the advance. Thermoplastics offer some advantages when processing large quantities in particular. They are therefore particularly suitable for new and innovative applications, for example in the automotive sector. Statistics show that the growth trend for thermoplastic materials in recent years has been far above average, is still above average and, in the opinion of the members surveyed, will continue to be so. Carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) are assessed as above average positive by the respondents despite the already mentioned slackening of the hype. Our members are aware that there are applications that are simply not feasible without carbon when it comes to certain requirements - especially for high-performance components. As far as future opportunities in certain industries are concerned, the respondents are confident about the future, especially with regard to the potential in the construction, aviation and, not least, sports and leisure industries. As far as the automotive sector is concerned, expectations are somewhat more cautious.

 

Asia, and China in particular, has long been a global economic heavyweight. To what extent is this also reflected in the composites market?

Last year's survey of our members showed that about one third of the participants perceived Asia as the biggest future growth driver. This puts Asia in first place in this survey, ahead of Europe and Germany respectively. A look at the development of the survey results over the past few years reveals a clear trend: the role of Asia is seen as becoming more and more important. It is not surprising that Asia and China are so high up in the rankings. Many of our member companies supply certain application industries, especially the transport and construction sectors. And China is making tremendous progress in the manufacture of vehicles, for example in the field of electromobility. In the meantime, Asia is able to work with composites along the entire process chain, starting with production. We at AVK observe such developments on the global market and support companies with workshops, for example, if they want to gain a foothold in other regions of the world. However, we also welcome the fact that the German and European markets attract interest from foreign companies.

 

What new areas of application do you see for composites in the coming years?

I would like to give you here several examples that show how diverse the application possibilities for fiber-reinforced plastics will be in the future: One example is the new 5G mobile radio standard, which will require the construction of a large number of new mobile radio masts. Composites are excellently suited as materials for these systems. In the Netherlands, there are already around a hundred FVK bridge projects that have been realized; in countries such as Saudi Arabia, fascinating buildings are being built that are almost entirely made of composites. The lightweight construction characteristics, but also the outstanding material properties of composite plastics such as corrosion protection, also allow completely new approaches - just think how well FVK could be suitable, for example, for lock gates that are constantly exposed to moisture. In the construction sector, however, we are faced with the challenge, especially in Germany, that there are a large number of regulations that must be observed before a successful building permit can be issued. We therefore work together with our members to ensure that adjustments are made to these regulations so that composites can be used more easily in the construction process.

 

Thank you for the interview.