______________________________________________________________________________________________ Exel
Composites segment due to global trends in electrification and the energy transition, which has led to new product categories like conductor cores.
“ Our solutions are tailored to each customer’ s needs, but as a simple definition, we can produce any 2D shape in varying lengths. We use different materials for fibers in our composites, and our resin systems are also tailored in-house. For the energy sector specifically, we manufacture a lot of profiles used for electric insulation so naturally insulating glass fiber composites are suitable for this application. We approach our conductor core product relationships by providing a range of expertise to manufacturers, and tailoring the profile’ s size, shape, and lengths to give the customer freedom to make their own conductor design.”
In terms of sustainability, Exel has partnered with Fairmat, a producer of secondgeneration carbon fiber composites.“ We first worked with Fairmat to recycle carbon fiber scrap from pultrusion and pull-winding processes at our Finnish sites in Joensuu and Mäntyharju,” Heini explains.“ The scrap was mechanically processed into CFRP chips, used for structural reinforcement, impact surfaces, and other lightweight applications, using minimal energy. This partnership creates a second life for our carbon fiber waste, supporting our long-term goals to reduce both waste and emissions.”
Heini then turns her attention to the company’ s recently conducted extensive market study, which was completed alongside several stakeholders from different regions related to electrical transmission, including the transmission grid owners( TSOs).“ In Europe, the challenges of the electrical infrastructure are mainly related to ageing grids, inadequate transmission capacity, and increased sustainability requirements,” she explains.“ Unlike here in Finland, most European countries are quite densely built, and the land is privately owned and in use, meaning it can be difficult to build new lines and projects like this can sometimes take over a decade!
“ Therefore, the most promising and interesting solution is to reconductor the existing lines with advanced conductors. This retains the existing structures, with the capacity increase coming from the
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