Cytec Industries Inc. (Woodland Park, NJ) has entered into a strategic collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover, the scope of which includes developing designs, materials and manufacturing concepts for the cost-effective use of composites materials for automotive structures.

"We are excited about this opportunity to develop composite materials for high-volume serial automotive vehicles and are pleased to partner in this initiative with Jaguar Land Rover, which is known for its excellence in technological and design innovations," said Shane Fleming, Cytec chairman, president and CEO. "There are substantial growth opportunities in the automotive market, including demonstrated demand for cost-effective, composite materials suitable for high-volume production. The use of carbon fiber-based structural composites will play an instrumental role in reducing vehicle weight and greatly lowering CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption."

Composites have been widely used for many years in the aerospace industry, with recently developed aircraft benefitting from significant reductions in weight and the consumption of fuel. Recent designs have increased the amount of composites used by 5-10%, in some cases reaching approximately 50% of the total weight of the aircraft. Cytec has a long history of supplying aerospace programs, including commercial customers such as Boeing and Airbus, with advanced composite materials.

"The partnership with Jaguar Land Rover is driven by Cytec's strategic plan to grow our presence in high-performance industrial markets," Fleming continued. "Cytec has a long history of supplying high-end supercars and key aerospace programs with advanced composite materials, and the success we have experienced in the aerospace industry should certainly translate to the automotive space. As we focus on the development of advanced composite materials for sustainable vehicles, Cytec will be able to leverage its existing capabilities as well as those it recently acquired in the Umeco transaction, including state-of-the-art application development capabilities in the UK."

Cytec acquired advanced composite and process materials supplier Umeco Plc (Warwickshire, UK) in a deal valued at $439 million in July this year. Umeco is already partners in a project to examine the potential for using high-performance composites in mainstream automotive applications. —[email protected]