SABIC plans new carbon fiber plant in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) announced on Wednesday that it signed a technology agreement with Montefibre S.p.A (Montefibre) granting SABIC and its affiliates an extensive international licence on carbon fiber technology developed by Montefibre.
SABIC said it will first use the technology for a new carbon fiber plant to be built in Saudi Arabia.
The plant will demonstrate how SABIC continues to add innovative new specialty products to its offering, the company said. It will enable SABIC to serve the growing demand for carbon fiber and composites in such fast-growing markets as alternative energy, transportation and infrastructure, officials noted.
SABIC and Montefibre also agreed to study the feasibility of a new carbon fiber production plant in Spain to be integrated into Montefibre’s existing acrylic fiber production site - and thus allowing SABIC to accelerate product development and material qualification activities with customers and end-users.
Once complete, the carbon fiber project is expected to establish a domestic supply of more than 3,000 metric tons of industrial grade carbon fiber to serve emerging local markets in the Middle East as well as international markets.
Commenting on SABIC’s commitment to enter the carbon fiber market, Koos van Haasteren, executive vice president of performance chemicals, said, “This carbon fiber project will be the basis for the creation of a world-class carbon composites value chain in Saudi Arabia and a valuable extension of our offering of innovative products and services to our customers in key markets.
The project will also include the creation of a new carbon fiber product development center and composite plastics application development capabilities at the SABIC Plastics Application Development Center (SPADC) which is currently under construction at the Riyadh Techno Valley research complex at King Saud University.
Both the carbon fiber production plant and the SPADC capabilities are aligned with Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Clusters Development Program to grow and diversify the manufacturing sector in Saudi Arabia.
Derek Buckmaster, general manager of functional polymers, said: “Carbon fiber is a product which will offer our customers great value and will enable them to achieve their sustainability targets. For example, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in transportation markets such as automotive, heavy trucks and rail are enabled by weight reductions from utilizing lightweight carbon fiber composites.”
Financial details were not disclosed.
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