HRC Showcases Advanced Composite Materials at the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show

From April 23 to May 2, 2025, the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, themed “Embrace Innovation, Win the Future,” took place at the National Exhibition and Convention Center. This year’s event reached new heights, featuring nearly a thousand well-known enterprises from 26 countries and regions. The exhibition showcased a series of new car launches and cutting-edge technologies, highlighting the global automotive industry’s advancements in technology and innovation.

HRC, a global leader in composite materials solutions, made a stunning appearance in Hall 2.2. The company presented three thematic display areas: “Ultra Intelligent New Materials,” “Cool Aesthetics,” and “Environmental Pioneer,” demonstrating the innovative breakthroughs of carbon fiber materials in automotive lightweighting, high performance, and sustainable development. This exhibition created a sensory feast that fused advanced materials science with future mobility concepts, further defining the value dimensions of composite materials in automotive applications and outlining an imaginative technological blueprint for the industry.

Ultra Intelligent New Materials: Building the Lightweight Skeleton of Future Vehicles

As the global automotive industry shifts towards greater efficiency and energy savings, HRC remains committed to continuous technological breakthroughs and process upgrades. The company leverages the exceptional properties of carbon fiber composites, such as lightweight strength, corrosion resistance, and fatigue durability, to expand their performance boundaries and application scenarios.

In the “Ultra Intelligent New Materials” area, HRC unveiled several groundbreaking innovations that garnered significant attention, particularly the “Super Carbon Cabin.” Developed exclusively for clients, this product achieves a remarkable 30% weight reduction compared to traditional steel-aluminum solutions, with a lightweight coefficient that breaks industry limits at just 0.95. While maintaining extreme lightweight features, HRC integrated over ten advanced joining processes and employed innovative techniques such as PMI inserts at critical points to ensure excellent handling stability and collision safety even under extreme conditions. The “Super Carbon Cabin” sets a new technical benchmark, being the world’s largest monocoque carbon cabin, and pioneers the use of carbon fiber as a primary structural material in high-end mass-produced vehicles.

Additionally, a door module utilizing a thermoplastic composite processing technique drew attention from many industry experts. This technology is recognized for its advantages in industrial mass production, showcasing competitive edge in production efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability. It is particularly suitable for the mass production of large flat structural components, such as automotive door inner panels and battery pack casings. As a representative innovation, the door module features integrated molding through compression injection, effectively avoiding the secondary bonding process typical of traditional methods. The application of fully automated molding technology ensures high consistency and stability of the product, significantly enhancing production efficiency.

Cool Aesthetics: Interpreting the Philosophy of “Technological Luxury” Design

With its distinctive textures and widespread use in top-performance vehicles like Formula 1 cars and supercars, carbon fiber composites have become a hallmark of high-end industrial design. In the “Cool Aesthetics” display area, HRC showcased several automotive interior and exterior components that blend visual impact with aesthetic enjoyment. The flowing lines and lightweight textures perfectly exhibited the harmonious fusion of advanced manufacturing and design aesthetics.

A featured product, a full carbon fiber wheel, is hailed as an “eye-catching tool on the road.” Its unique carbon fiber texture reflects a futuristic appeal in varying light conditions, making the wheel a standout element of the vehicle. This product reduces weight by over 40% compared to metal wheels, effectively lessening the load on the vehicle’s suspension system and enhancing handling and acceleration performance.

Another star product is the rear bumper lower trim assembly, designed with aerodynamics in mind. It not only excels in performance but also boasts a track-level aesthetic. The aerodynamic fins on the left and right lower sections of the rear bumper feature sharp structures with a thin, elevated cross-section, and the sleek design combined with unique carbon fabric textures ensures the product stands out in both dynamic and static displays.

Environmental Pioneer: Advancing the Dual Carbon Process in the Automotive Industry

In the “Environmental Pioneer” area, HRC showcased a comprehensive display platform for its “Green and Recyclable Composite Material Ecological System.” This immersive experience systematically unpacks the lifecycle of recycled carbon fiber composites and illustrates the value transfer pathways of materials within a circular economy. As one of the few high-tech enterprises globally that integrates the development, industrial application, recycling, and reuse of composite materials into a closed-loop ecology, HRC offers a one-stop solution for the challenges of composite waste handling and reutilization through its patented recycling technology and innovative series of regenerated products.

In the process of converting carbon fiber composite waste into regenerated carbon fiber, HRC achieves low energy consumption with no chemical pollution, retaining over 95% of the material’s mechanical properties. A highlight of the display area is the first-time exhibition of various thermoplastic components made from recycled carbon fiber, including interior parts and airbag components. These products demonstrate significant advantages in variety, process maturity, and completion, marking the first instance where a company has successfully transformed carbon fiber recycling technology, intermediate products, and end products into a complete commercial practice showcased systematically.

The Shanghai Auto Show serves as a barometer for the global automotive industry, acting as a competitive arena for cutting-edge technologies and a source of inspiration for future mobility. Amid the surging waves of automotive intelligence and electrification, lightweighting remains a critical premise for breaking performance boundaries, enhancing range, and ensuring safety. HRC will continue to empower future mobility with material science and support the automotive industry’s transition towards greater efficiency, intelligence, and sustainability.

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