Carbon Nexus expands to become Asia-Pacific's largest carbon fibre research centre

Deakin University's Carbon Nexus facility has secured a $55 million expansion investment that will make it the largest carbon fibre research and development centre in the Asia-Pacific and create the industrial-scale manufacturing capability that allows Carbon Nexus to move from research prototyping to the commercial-scale production runs that industry partners need to validate carbon fibre applications in their manufacturing processes.

The expansion includes a new continuous tow production line that will produce carbon fibre at commercial scale using precursor materials and production processes developed at Carbon Nexus, a pilot-scale composite fabrication hall for automotive and aerospace applications, and a surface treatment and coating facility that addresses the interface science challenges that limit the mechanical properties of composite materials in structural applications.

Geelong's manufacturing community has welcomed the expansion as an anchor for the advanced manufacturing cluster that has been developing around Carbon Nexus and the Ford Motor Company site that has been repurposed as a technology and innovation precinct since Ford's 2016 closure. The cluster now includes more than 40 companies whose combined turnover exceeds $800 million and whose workforce of approximately 2,000 people represents the highest-value manufacturing employment in the Geelong region.

Federal Industry Minister Ed Husic, who co-announced the funding with the Victorian government at a Geelong ceremony, said Carbon Nexus was "a model of what Australian advanced manufacturing can achieve when world-class research is connected to commercial ambition and sustained public investment."

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