Composites for electric vehicles and automotive sector: A review

Abstract

The automotive sector is undergoing a significant transformation to address critical challenges affecting consumers and the climate. One of the most difficult tasks is reducing the weight of vehicles in order to minimize energy consumption. A ten percent decrease in curb weight is predicted to result in a six to eight percent reduction in energy consumption. Composite materials having better strength to weight ratio are one of the finest options for planning, designing and manufacturing of the lightweight components. In automobile sector, employment of composite materials would reduce the weight of electric vehicles as well as influence their aerodynamic properties. Therefore, it would decrease the consumption of fuel as well by cutting down harmful emissions and particulate matter. Numerous developments in such technologies are studied over the last decade by automobile establishments and academic researchers. Fiber-reinforced polymers, particularly those established on glass and carbon fibers, have attracted attention of the automobile sector due to their high performance and lesser weight. This paper reviews the applications of various types of composite materials and the fabrication techniques of such composites in electric vehicles and automobiles. Furthermore, a comprehensive data breakdown of the lightweight materials statistics and figures on market analysis of high performance composite is presented. Finally, a discussion is made on the different applications of these composites. Hence, the details presented in this study should be useful for automobile companies to align with NET ZERO global mission while sustaining their businesses.