Scania Growth Capital has invested SEK35m (£2.98m) in Corebon AB, a Swedish materials tech start-up that has developed a method for producing carbon fibre components.
Corebon has invented what is described as the world’s fastest production process for carbon fibre reinforced plastic.
This has resulted in a higher standard of composite materials, lower costs and minimal impact on the environment.
The patented process is based on induction heating, and it enables Corebon to produce carbon fibre components at significantly higher speed than through existing established methods.
The quality of the carbon fibre components produced is also superior, and the energy consumption in production is considerably reduced.
Tobias Björnhov, founder and CEO, Corebon AB, said: “The Technology results in up to 10 times faster production cycle times, up to 95% energy savings, and the highest fibre-volume fraction composites ever manufactured.”
It all began over 10 years ago in the French Alps with a group of friends who had a passion for skiing and an idea for making better skis using carbon fibre.
“We had limited financial assets so we needed to find a much faster and cheaper way to develop the skis,” he continued.
“We then discovered that we could heat the material they were made of from within instead of adding heat to the outside, using the carbon fibre contained in them as a heat source.”
“Thanks to this technology, the heat can be controlled more easily, less plastic needs to be added, and a high fibre volume fraction is achieved,” said Rasmus Olsson, founder and Chief Technical Officer of Corebon AB.
“We are in an acceleration phase and we are growing both our production capacity and our organisation.
“To have Scania Growth Capital as an investor, both with financial resources but also with their skills and experience, is extremely important to us.”
Per-Arne Eriksson, Head of Customised Truck Development at Scania, will join the board of directors of Corebon.
“The strategy has been to invest in companies that have strategic relevance to the ecosystem in which we operate and Corebon fits very well,” he said.
“In the rapidly changing automotive industry, we see many opportunities to expand the use of carbon fibre composites to more applications as an enabler in product development, including in vehicle electrification.”
