April 19, 2019 Updated 4/19/2019
XG Sciences Inc. Rose
Detroit — Nanotechnology and graphene holds great promise for the automotive market, a Ford Motor Co. technical expert said at Antec 2019.
Deborah Mielewski, senior technical leader of sustainable materials and advanced materials at Ford, said nanomaterials can improve lightweighting, reduce wear in vehicle powertrains and lessen rolling resistance in tires.
“There’s a lot of promise here, if we can be creative,” she said.
Mielewski was part of a panel discussion held during Antec on advanced manufacturing using nanotechnology.
Philip Rose, CEO of XG Sciences Inc., which makes graphene nanoplatelets, said composites are the biggest user of graphene. Graphene will play a major role in lighter vehicles and electric cars, he said. XG Sciences is in Lansing, Mich.
Mielewski said Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford is researching the use of graphene in form.
“A tiny bit of graphene into polyol increased the properties in the foam by over 30 percent,” she said. That makes graphene a good additive for noise vibration.
“The perfect applications are things like pump covers and engine covers, to isolate noise from the passenger compartment,” Mielewski said.
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