Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICTThe Fraunhofer Project Center for Composite Research at the Ulsan National Institute for Science and Technology (FPC@UNIST) represents a comprehensive cooperation between one of the leading Korean universities in the field of science and technology in the middle of Korea's largest industrial city, Ulsan, and the Fraunhofer ICT. UNIST is one of the four nationally funded universities which, together with KAIST, GIST and DGIST, have committed themselves to research in science and technology.
Fraunhofer Project Center for Composites Research FPC@UNIST
Since its opening in 2009, UNIST has been working to become one of the world's leading universities in the field of science and technology.
In addition to the already established FPC@Western in Ontario, Canada, one of the hubs for the North American automotive industry, FPC@UNIST provides ICT with access to the local Asian industry and thus the opportunity to participate in market-specific technology trends. The Korean automotive industry is the fifth largest automotive production location worldwide and invests considerable effort and resources in technological improvements such as new lightweight vehicle concepts and energy storage technologies.
Within the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the Polymer Engineering department of Fraunhofer ICT focuses on lightweight construction technologies and application-oriented composites production for the mobility sector. This enables Fraunhofer to offer its German and European customers a neutral platform for the cooperation in the field of applied research with local industry in an emerging market of the future, as well as to participate directly in bilateral industrial or Korean nationally funded projects.
The research focus at FPC@UNIST is the use of fiber reinforced plastics in lightweight construction applications, especially in the automotive sector. The work at the FPC is oriented towards the requirements of the regional Asian market. The FPC has innovative and state-of-the-art processing equipment on an industrial scale for thermoplastic and thermoset material systems. This includes a hydraulic press with a press force of 2,500t; a high-pressure RTM system that can also be used for wet compression molding; the latest generation of an innovative tape laying system as well as an injection molding unit that can be coupled to the hydraulic press.
