Composites United
Composites United e. V. (CU) is an international network for multi-material lightweight construction with high-performance fiber composites and hybrid materials. CU has around 400 members - companies such as research institutes and institutional members. The legal form is a registered association (eV), which is financed as a non-profit organization through membership fees and projects and is organized in a corresponding structure. About 40 working groups of the association are currently working intensively on all topics relevant to industry.
In addition to locations in the DACH region, there are branch offices in Belgium (CU Belgium), China (CFK Valley China), South Korea (CFK Valley Korea), Japan (CFK Valley Japan) and India (CFK Valley India). The association's headquarters are in Berlin , clusters and networks are based in Augsburg ( MAI Carbon ), Stade (CU North), Bayreuth (Ceramic Composites), Dresden (CU East), Kaiserslautern (CU West), Stuttgart (CU Baden-Württemberg) , Leoben (CU Austria) and Windisch (CU Switzerland).
activity
CU promotes the industrial use of hybrid high-performance lightweight composite materials and supports sustainable use. To this end, CU helps members with the targeted acquisition of projects and supports them in presenting their skills at national and international events / trade fairs and through specific educational offers.
history
The network was formed on January 1, 2019 from the merger of CFK Valley e. V. in Stade with Carbon Composites e. V. in Augsburg (CCeV). Both clubs brought in their representatives and departments that had been established by CFK Valley since 2004 and by CCeV from 2007.
At the initiative of the CCeV, 72 companies, educational and research institutions and other organizations from the Munich-Augsburg-Ingolstadt (MAI) region took part in the top cluster competition of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research ( BMBF ). As the top cluster MAI Carbon, this project has been funded by the BMBF since January 2012.
Both the CCeV and the CFK Valley e. V. achieved certification from the European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI) and thus demonstrated professional management in administration, financing, strategy and service.
Club structure
CU is registered as a registered association in the German register of associations in Berlin-Charlottenburg. The most important organ of the CU is the general assembly . It elects the honorary 8-person executive committee, in which the tasks and application industries are assigned ( strategy , internationalization , aerospace , automotive , wind energy , mechanical engineering , shipbuilding , new business development, medicine , sport, ceramics , construction and transport ). The members of the Presidium convene advisory board members on the relevant topics or specialist areas and name the full-time management of the association. The executive committee and advisory board members form the entire board. The Presidium is also advised by an advisory board with representatives from politics, science and industry.
Members
CU represents the interests of its members technically, commercially and politically. The members represent all industries in which lightweight construction materials are used and thus contribute directly to the conservation of energy and raw material resources. The topic of sustainability in the ecological, economic and social consensus enjoys the highest priority in the CU. Multi-material lightweight construction primarily uses fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) and hybrid materials in order to combine significantly lower weight with optimized mechanical properties that arise in the manufacturing process. The application of the resulting materials goes beyond pioneering industries such as aviation and automotive and now includes many other industries such as B. medical technology or mechanical engineering . Important groups of materials are fiber-reinforced ceramics and fiber-reinforced concrete . Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) in particular has now established itself in the construction industry or in the manufacture of rotor blades for wind turbines , but also as a design element in various applications. The members cover the entire value chain across all industries (raw material, tool manufacture, design, development, production, service, recycling and reuse).
Field of activity
The main concern of this professional network is to promote the application of lightweight construction technologies and their successful marketing. Many activities are geared towards this and include working groups and working groups for professional exchange, the organization of trade fairs, congresses and specialist conferences as well as a large number of training and further education opportunities in the field of fiber composite technologies. Members have the opportunity to present themselves at national and international trade fairs at the association's joint stands and to receive advice on applying for and carrying out funding projects.
CU annually prepares a Composites market report that covers the current trends, market developments, challenges, and opportunities of fiber-reinforced plastics. In addition to face-to-face events from moderated face-to-face discussions to the organization of international lightweight construction trade fairs and workshops, webinar series and video formats have also established themselves in the CU portfolio and are available to members and interested parties.
With its international agencies, CU is present and active worldwide. In Europe, full-fledged clusters emerged in Austria, Switzerland and Belgium with their own members, event formats and other activities. Local representatives in the branch offices in Japan, South Korea, China and India cover a large part of the Asian region, which is very important for this industry, and work closely with the Berlin headquarters. Joint technical projects, some of which are funded from all participating countries, including in South Korea and Japan, have been successfully coordinated and will continue to be maintained by the participating members even after the funding period has expired. The aim of this internationalization is to give members access to international markets and innovative technologies and to complement the network with international members and partner networks in order to form a world-leading meta-cluster.
The recycling of CFRP is technically established and has been used industrially for more than 10 years. A CU member has been operating a pyrolysis plant for the recovery of valuable carbon fibers with an annual capacity of 1,500 t since 2010 . Other companies around the world use this method. In the process, the matrix is used thermally and the carbon fibers are recovered in long or short fiber form. They can thus be used for new applications. Another process is solvolysis , in which the matrix is dissolved and both fibers and matrix components can be recovered.
Network and cooperation
The association works with many other related networks around the world. This includes aviation clusters as well as many organizations and industrial associations that have committed themselves to sustainable solutions to conserve energy and resources. In Germany there is a cooperation with Deutsche Messe AG , from which the new industry format LightCon emerges. Internationally there is a close cooperation with the JEC, especially for the organization of trade fairs and events in the Asian region (Korea, Japan).
Web links
Individual evidence
1. Association registration: Charlottenburg District Court (AZ .: VR37676) from CCeV (AG Augsburg VR200246) and CFK Valley e. V. (AG Tostedt VR100557)
2. Gold label
3. Quality audit
4. Industry reports
5. Composites Market Reports