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TRIMIS

Multi-material additive manufacturing for lightweight and thermal management

PROJECTS
Funding
European
European Union
Duration
-
Status
Ongoing
Geo-spatial type
Other
Total project cost
€4 071 978
EU Contribution
€4 071 977
Project Acronym
MULTHEM
STRIA Roadmaps
Vehicle design and manufacturing (VDM)
Transport mode
Multimodal icon
Transport policies
Environmental/Emissions aspects
Transport sectors
Passenger transport

Overview

Call for proposal
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01
Link to CORDIS
Background & Policy context

Carbon fibre composites (CFC) have been increasingly replacing metals in products requiring lightweight features. However, due to the traditional manufacturing process and poor thermal conductivity, the use of CFC has been limited to structural applications. For example, the casings for batteries, electrical motors, and power electronics are typically manufactured entirely in aluminium because they require efficient heat dissipation. Using pure aluminium results in a heavier and less cost-effective solution than using pure CFC.

The vision of the EU-funded MULTHEM project is to use the different benefits from metals and CFC materials to develop and validate new reliable additively manufactured processes and new metal-polymer multi-materials with structural and cooling features with a more cost-effective approach than traditional methods.

Objectives

The 26th Climate Change Conference has highlighted the urgent need to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions to limit global warming. The transport sector accounts for approx. 16% of the global carbon emissions and has identified fleet electrification as the primary route to achieving climate neutrality. However, the main challenges are the current weight of components and the cost of new systems to ensure efficiency and long-term sustainability. As a result, the industry has recognised the need for transformative technologies and production methods to develop lighter, more efficient, and cost-effective solutions to enable this transition and achieve climate neutrality.

With their outstanding mechanical strength, Carbon Fibre Composites (CFC) have been increasingly used to replace metals in products requiring lightweight features, such as aircraft or high-performance vehicles. However, due to the traditional manufacturing process and poor thermal conductivity, the use of CFC has been limited to structural applications. For example, batteries, electrical motors, and power electronics, where power losses need to be efficiently dissipated, typically require separate heat exchangers, resulting in heavier and less cost-effective solutions that still utilize bulky designs and heavy materials.

The vision of MULTHEM is to develop a reliable and validated Additively Manufactured (AM) CFC process with enhanced thermal conductivity with different material combinations and nanotechnology. This innovative approach will allow the development of components, such as battery and motor housings with dual functionality comprising structural and cooling features and with a more cost-effective approach than traditional methods. This solution will enhance the product performance, first by the weight reduction achieved by designs that only AM enables, and second, by using CFC-metal structures with enhanced thermal conductivity strategies, lighter and stronger than aluminium or steel.

Funding

Specific funding programme
HORIZON.2.4 - Digital, Industry and Space
HORIZON.2.4.4 - Advanced Materials
Other Programme
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-12 Functional multi-material components and structures (RIA)
Funding Source
HORIZON EUROPE

Partners

Lead Organisation
Organisation
FUNDACION CENTRO TECNOLOGICO METALMECANICA Y DEL TRANSPORTE (CETEMET)
Address
AVENIDA PRIMERO DE MAYO S/N, 23700 Linares, Spain
EU Contribution
€560 313
Partner Organisations
Organisation
Eirecomposites Teoranta
Address
UDARAS INDUSTRIAL ESTATE AN CHOILL RUA, INVERIN, CO. GALWAY, Ireland
Organisation website
EU Contribution
€476 250
Organisation
NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR TOEGEPAST NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK TNO
Address
ANNA VAN BUERENPLEIN 1, 2595 DA DEN HAAG, Netherlands
Organisation website
EU Contribution
€495 191
Organisation
FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG EV
Address
HANSASTRASSE 27C, 80686 MUNCHEN, Germany
Organisation website
EU Contribution
€535 321
Organisation
LUXEMBOURG INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Address
5 AVENUE DES HAUTS FOURNEAUX, 4362 ESCH SUR ALZETTE, Luxembourg
Organisation website
EU Contribution
€387 188
Organisation
THALES
Address
TOUR CARPE DIEM PLACE DES COROLLES ESPLANADE NORD, 92400 COURBEVOIE, France
Organisation website
EU Contribution
€509 821
Organisation
PRIMA ADDITIVE SRL
Address
CORSO RE UMBERTO 54, 10128 TORINO TO, Italy
EU Contribution
€487 500
Organisation
SOLMATEK SOLUTIONS SL
Address
C HERMOSILLA N48 1D, 28001 MADRID, Spain
EU Contribution
€620 394

Technologies

Technology Theme
Additive manufacturing
Technology
Additive Layer Manufacturing
Development phase
Research/Invention

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