Haydale Graphene Industries says that its prepreg material incorporating graphene powder forms part of the composite tooling and automotive body panels of the Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) Mono R supercar.

According to the company, using graphene-enhanced composites rather than metal means that the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) is more closely matched, while composite tools without graphene can also have a finite life due to wearing of the tool surfaces and microcracking.

‘In the development of this project, Haydale has improved the supply chain and cycle times as well as enabling BAC to reduce weight and increase performance of the material,’ said Keith Broadbent, CEO at Haydale. ‘Whilst this outcome has focused on the automotive sector, the knowledge and improvements made provide a wider opportunity for tooling materials across several markets, particularly where there are throughput constraints.’