Germany’s BASF and Toray Advanced Composites, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Toray based in the US state of California, have signed a manufacturing and supply agreement dedicated to production of continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic (CFRT) tapes for automotive and industrial markets.

The pact foresees the California firm formerly known as TenCate Advanced Composites producing the tapes from BASF’s PA 6.6 Ultramid-branded PA 6.6  engineering thermoplastics reinforced with either glass or carbon fiber.

Alongside manufacturing, the two companies want to improve commercial availability of CFRT materials and thus encourage adoption of advanced materials for lightweight, structural components in a wide range of industrial markets.

The automotive market is clearly in focus. With the new CFRT materials, BASF and Toray said carmakers will be able to design and rapidly produce components at lower cost, using new manufacturing processes such as automated stamp forming and overmolding.

Toray said its carbon fiber reinforcements are compatible with a wide range of BASF’s Ultramid compounds, so that more efficient, multifunctional parts can be produced in fewer steps and with less labor input compared with more traditional methods.