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J U L Y 2 0 1 4 | 2 1 NEWS NEWS S SGL Carbon Fibers to boost 50K fber capacity at Moses Lake to 9,000 tons By 2015, the complex will host the world's largest single carbon fber manufacturing plant GL Automotive Carbon Fibers (SGL ACF), a joint venture of carbon f- ber manufacturer SGL Group (Wies- baden, Germany) and automaker BMW Group (Munich, Germany), hosted corpo- rate and government dignitaries on May 9 at its carbon fber facility in Moses Lake, Wash., to announce a second expansion of the plant. The move will increase ca- pacity at the site to 9,000 tons per annum by the end of 2015. HPC was at the event. The facility opened in 2011, with two 1,500-ton 50K carbon fber lines, to sup- ply fber for the Life Modules (passenger cells) in BMW's i3 all-electric commuter car and i8 hybrid-electric sports car. An ex- pansion, begun in 2013, will increase ca- pacity this summer to 6,000 tons. A third building, for which offcials broke ground on May 9, will add 3,000 tons of capacity. SGL ACF offcials say that will make the Moses Lake plant the world's largest sin- gle carbon fber production facility. The i Series Life Module supply chain is unique in both the automotive and composites industries in that it is a cap- tive system — all aspects of production, from spinning of polyacrylonitrile pre- cursor fber through fabric preforming, are under the OEM's control. Thus, any expansion at Moses Lake is seen as a strong sign of how much carbon fber BMW intends to use in the coming years. Anything but trivial, the expansion represents an additional investment of more than $200 million (USD) and sends a strong signal to the carbon fber and automaking markets that BMW is seri- ously committed to carbon fber use. BMW board member Dr. Klaus Draeger said at the groundbreaking that it would fnd use not only in the i3 and i8, but also other BMW vehicles, including the M Series, which has sported a carbon fber roof for the past decade. As for other ve- hicles, BMW offcials weren't specifc but Draeger dropped a large hint by point- ing out that "between the i3 and the i8, there are many numbers." Draeger also went to great lengths to thank SGL and Washington State for their cooperation and support, emphasizing in the pro- cess the "game-changing" nature of the i Series. "BMW is not just about vision- ary vehicle concepts and mobility ser- vices," he claimed. "It represents a new dimension of sustainability and energy effciency throughout the value chain. In other words, BMW 'i' is a revolution in the automotive industry." "In the course of only four years, SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers has managed to become the world's largest carbon f- ber production site," observed SGL ACF's CEO Andreas Wüllner. "The automotive industry will increasingly turn to CFRP [carbon fber-reinforced plastic] because it is the material of the future." SGL ACF selected the Moses Lake site, in part, because access to relatively inex- pensive hydroelectric power from dams on the nearby Columbia River allowed it to bypass natural gas use entirely, said Wüllner, providing signifcant cost and environmental benefts. In recognition, Washington's governor Jay Inslee said the state was committing $150,000 in educational grants to help train new em- ployees for the expanded plant and em- phasized his desire to create and foster a business climate that helps companies like SGL and BMW earn a proft, increase employment and meet the energy and emissions challenges. To the "pessimists and naysayers" who don't believe humans need to act now to solve pollution and energy problems, Gov- ernor Inslee offered a challenge: "Come to Moses Lake and join us optimists who know we can beat this problem." Given that SGL ACF's facilities cover only a small portion of the 60 acres it owns in Moses Lake and have access to abundant low-cost power, the question becomes, how many more expansions might be made in the coming years? SGL ACF expands again Near the existing Moses Lake plant (above), the groundbreaking ceremony for the new 3,000-ton facility took place May 9. Left to right: Steve Swanson, SGL ACF plant manager; Andreas Wüllner, CEO of SGL ACF; Dr. Jürgen Köhler, CEO of SGL Group (partially obscured); Jay Inslee, Washington's governor; Dr. Klaus Draeger, board member, purchasing and supplier network, at BMW AG; and Dr. Jörg Pohlman, CEO of SGL ACF. Source (both photos): HPC/Photos: Jeff Sloan 0714HPC New&Briefs-OK.indd; 21 6/17/2014 10:22:50 AM