Universitat de València professors Mario Culebras, Rafael Muñoz-Espí and Clara Maria Gómez are involved in a European project investigating mechanisms to reduce energy use for the carbon fibre industry in a cleaner alternative. By harnessing advanced plasma and microwave technologies, the CARBOWAVE project aims to revolutionise carbon fibre production and contribute to Europe's sustainability and energy security goals.
The three professors are part of the Macromolecules and Colloids for Sustainable Materials (MacroCoSM) research group at the Universitat de València and are a key part of the European CARBOWAVE project, an ambitious project coordinated by Professor Maurice Collins and Dr Anne McLoughlin of the University of Limerick, which promises to transform the carbon fibre industry, one of the most energy-intensive, through the implementation of cutting-edge alternative heating technologies. The project introduces innovative plasma and microwave heating methods to replace conventional processes, significantly reducing energy consumption, carbon emissions and production costs.
Europe's dependence on energy-intensive processes has long been an obstacle to achieving sustainability, especially in industries that use processes requiring high temperatures. CARBOWAVE addresses this challenge through novel susceptor-induced microwave heating (SIMW) and atmospheric plasma stabilisation technology. These advances will enable more efficient conversion of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) to carbon fibre (CF), a strategic material vital to Europe's future energy security.
The CARBOWAVE project brings together leading research institutions and industrial partners from across Europe to drive this transformative change. The consortium is formed by universities from Ireland, Germany, France, Italy and in the case of Spain by the research team of the Universitat de València belonging to the Institute of Materials Science (ICMUV) and the Department of Physical Chemistry.
Microwave heating
CARBOWAVE is based on a susceptor-induced microwave heating technology using layer-by-layer self-assembled nanostructures initially developed at the University of Limerick by researchers Maurice Collins and Mario Culebras Rubio (now lead researcher for the Universitat de València) during his postdoctoral stage at the University of Limerick. The first results were published last year in the journal Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials. Moreover, these results have already been patented.
Carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRPs), derived from carbon fibre, are key in sectors such as wind energy, construction and transport. The lightweighting capabilities of CFRPs improve the efficiency of wind turbines, support decarbonisation in construction and increase fuel efficiency in transport, especially in electric vehicles (EVs). However, current carbon fibre production is highly energy intensive, consuming between 100 and 900 MJ per kilogram produced, and relies heavily on electricity and natural gas.
Reduce consumption by 70%
CARBOWAVE's solutions aim to reduce this energy consumption by more than 70%, while maintaining material performance. The European market for advanced carbon materials, which dominates 37% of the global market and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8%, reaching $7.9 billion by 2027, will directly benefit from this innovative initiative.
CARBOWAVE innovations promise to unlock wider industrial use of carbon fibre by drastically reducing its production costs and environmental impact. The CARBOWAVE project represents an important step towards the decarbonisation of Europe's energy-intensive industries. By integrating plasma and microwave heating technologies, the project not only addresses immediate challenges such as energy consumption and emissions, but also paves the way for sustainable industrial growth.
CARBOWAVE is an initiative funded by the European Commission (project number 101192581), designed to develop and implement alternative heating sources for energy-intensive industries (HORIZON-CL5-2024-D4-01).