Ford is about to use graphene in its automobiles
Ford Motor Company gave a paper at the show. The biggest takeaway from that was the statement that it expected to be using graphene extensively in it cars within a couple of years. When questioned by the audience, it said that this will be as early as 2017, when Ford would use it in engine covers for reasons of heat dispersion and mechanical properties. It was also looking at graphene for batteries and energy storage, but that time frame was longer.
Ford said that it was getting better than 20% improvements in tensile and flexural strength in body parts with 0.25% w.t. loadings of graphene into nano-composites. It is now investigating graphene uses in smart textiles such as those used for heating and cooling car seats. While the challenge is in the dispersion of graphene, it is obviously a solvable problem.
So, there you have an unambiguous statement. Graphene is about to go into Ford automobiles. If one company is at this point in the process you can be sure there are many others on the same cusp. First Graphite is perfectly positioned to supply the graphene, as it told Ford when it came to the FGR booth. Business cards were exchanged.