A consortium of international companies joined forces to drive the future of Sheet Molding Compound (SMC), an established and cost-efficient material for the production of lightweight components. The companies will kick off a joint Market and Technology Study on September 12, 2017 which will pave the way for establishing a new high-performance generation of SMC materials (High-Performance SMC). Companies along the entire SMC value chain as well as those interested in the SMC technology are invited to join. Please find the related press release here.

As of July 1st, 2017, the Japan-based thermoplastic composites material developer and manufacturer MaruHachi Group expands its activities into the European market in cooperation with Dr. Michael Effing (AMAC GmbH) who will advise and support the company strategically. Please find the related press release here.

Main part of the 3rd meeting of the open Workgroup was the Information Event on the Joint Market and Technology Study on High-Performance SMC. The study will provide in-depth knowledge on SMC applications and technologies, key challenges and technological solutions for establishing High-Performance SMC. The workgroup meeting was an open workgroup involving companies outside the AZL Partner Network with an interest in HP-SMC. We thank Ste- ven Bakker from Saertex, Dr. Alex Schmidt from Hexion and Dr. Stefan Fliescher from Textechno for their keynote presentations. Please see the minutes here and contact Dr. Michael Effing for further information.

Renewable and clean energy technologies are gaining importance. With solar panels and wind turbines, people can now generate their own electricity which makes energy storage more and more essential. Conbility proposes an international joint market and technology study about energy storage systems. Find out more here.

The German government has recognized the importance of the lightweight industry in their so-called coalition agreement. At federal level, the framework for a broad industrial use has been under construction since 2015, with a specific contact person responsible for lightweight at the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie), abbreviated BMWi, a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. The creation of the overview of lightweight-related activities in Germany is called "Leichtbauatlas" and contains today 302 players. Please follow the link for further information.