Carbon Revolution and Deakin University Revolutionise Carbon Fibre Wheels Production to Meet Automotive Industry Demands

Carbon Revolution, a global technology company and Tier 1 OEM (original equipment manufacturer) supplier, has partnered with Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) to revolutionise the production of carbon fibre wheels.

The collaboration is part of the Sovereign Manufacturing Automation for Composites CRC (SoMAC CRC) project which aims to make Australia a leader in composite technologies with an advanced and automated network of designers, manufacturers and service providers.

Dr Steve Gower, CEO of SoMAC CRC, praises Carbon Revolution's capabilities in advanced composites manufacturing. He explains, “Carbon Revolution provides a great example of Australian capabilities in advanced composites manufacturing. SoMAC CRC is proud to support our partners Carbon Revolution and Deakin University to develop product and process technologies to support the expansion of manufacturing capabilities for Carbon Revolution’s single-piece carbon fibre wheels.”

Carbon Revolution has already established itself as the recognised leader in the production of lightweight carbon fibre wheels for the global automotive industry. The company has progressed from single prototypes to designing and manufacturing wheels at commercial scale for some of the most prestigious brands in the world. With over 70,000 Carbon Revolution wheels produced, the company has penetrated the performance and premium end of the automotive market with 18 active OEM programs for Ford, Ferrari, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover and Renault.

Jake Dingle, CEO and Managing Director of Carbon Revolution, says, “The unsprung weight savings of between 19 and 47% that our wheels provide are now delivering results with programs for six global OEMs; proving that our production capability for carbon fibre wheels is disrupting the automotive wheel market.”

Carbon Revolution is working with researchers from Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials to develop new product and process technologies to support the expansion of manufacturing capabilities for single-piece carbon fibre wheels.

Dr Ashley Denmead, CTO and founder of Carbon Revolution, highlights, “Our close collaboration with research partners such as Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials has made a strong contribution to our team for many years and continues to allow Carbon Revolution to innovate and improve the design and development phases of new wheel programs for our growing list of automotive customers.”

Prof Russell Varley, the project’s Chief Investigator, expresses his excitement about the collaboration. “Deakin University is excited to be working with Carbon Revolution to develop new composite wheels for the automotive industry of today and tomorrow,” he says.

The development of carbon fibre wheels is critical to the automotive industry as it helps reduce the mass of vehicles to address fuel economy limits and increase the range of electric vehicles. Carbon fibre wheels reduce weight from 30-50% compared to aluminium wheels, depending on customer geometry expectation and achieve all OEM validation specification standards.

The SoMAC CRC program will help Carbon Revolution advance its manufacturing capabilities and product performance. Dr Aaron Brighton, Technology Development Leader at Carbon Revolution, elaborates, “Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) are a great way to bring Industry and Researchers together leveraging resources, expertise and funding to advance Australian business and Industry. SoMAC CRC is key to Carbon Revolution advancing its manufacturing capabilities and product performance.”

“The unsprung weight savings of between 19 and 47% that our wheels provide are now delivering results with programs for six global OEMs; proving that our production capability for carbon fibre wheels is disrupting the automotive wheel market."

Jake Dingle

CEO, Carbon Revolution