Graphene Fibre Project

New electrical wiring technologies in aeronautics

Programme:

Smart Growth Operating Programme 2014-2020

Period:

2015 – 2017

Area of innovation:

Advanced wiring systems

Project objectives

The aim of the project is to develop electrically conductive polyester fibres. The plan is to incorporate graphene nanoparticles into polyester fibres and produce wires that have the same electrical conductivity as copper wires.

Trevira will be responsible for developing the fibres and AERTEC will test and market them to the aviation industry. The new wires will be lighter in weight and cheaper to manufacture.

AERTEC’s contribution

AERTEC was involved in the follow parts of this project:

Finding a solution to connect the graphene fibres to each other and to the connectors.
Developing a demonstrator to illustrate the performance and industrial usability of graphene fibres.
Developing a platform to test tensile strength, conductivity, resistance, vibrations, etc.
In-flight testing, e.g. unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).