JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Special Issue Smart Cities - November 2019 - 37

Street smarts: How composite materials are driving the smart city movement
solution that helps to reduce the
overall vehicle weight of buses and
trams. They are used throughout vehicles, from fibreglass exterior panels
to carbon fibre stiffeners and battery
boxes. This helps save fuel, reduce
pollution and lower the lifetime
maintenance costs of vehicles.

Light weight composite panels and stiffeners help improve vehicle energy efficiency.
©Bombardier

About Exel Composites

Exel Composites, a global technology company headquartered in Finland, is the world's largest
manufacturer of pultruded and pull-wound composite solutions. The company's global manufacturing, R&D, and sales footprint serves customers across a broad range of industries and applications. With 60 years of composites experience and engineering expertise, Exel works closely with
their customers to design and manufacture high-quality composite solutions using carbon fibre,
fibreglass, and other high-performance materials. The company's composites help reduce weight,
improve performance, and decrease total life cycle costs, all while helping increase energy efficiencies and supporting environmental sustainability.
Exel Composites employs approximately 650 innovative and customer-focused employees around
the world and is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki exchange.
ies to easily integrate the technology.
Exel has been manufacturing radio-transparent outdoor structures
for many years, and expects to see
the lightweight, corrosion-resistant
and radio-transparent qualities of
composites help drive data around
smart cities today and in the future.
Infrastructure presents a further barrier for short wave frequencies and
could cause 5G to, quite literally, hit a
wall. Due to its ultra-low latency, the
availability of 5G could be dramatically reduced as its high frequency
may struggle to penetrate buildings.
With 80% of device use occurring inside buildings, this loss or reduction

in availability significantly impacts
the technology's uptake.
However, incorporating fibreglass
components into buildings, such
as in window and door frames, will
help reduce signal attenuation into
our houses and businesses.
In addition, because fibreglass is
capable of withstanding strong UV
rays, extreme temperatures and varying levels of humidity, composite
components also provide smart city
buildings with a durable material
that reduces overall lifetime costs.
To optimise public transport, composites can provide a lightweight
SPECIAL ISSUE Smart Cities / November 2019

Taking notice
The main hurdle that composites
face is simple awareness. Many
manufacturers may not be aware
that composites are an alternative
to the materials they are using today
in buildings, infrastructure, transportation and telecommunication
projects simply because it has not
crossed their minds to explore new
options.
Working alongside an experienced
composites manufacturer, who can
explain both the benefits of composite materials and their ability to
produce smart city solutions using
cost-efficient manufacturing processes, will help break down this
barrier.
Smart cities are no longer a thing of
the future. While Singapore is often
considered as one of the first cities
to benefit from increased data handling, the likes of Barcelona, Helsinki, Seattle and Milton Keynes are
also positively altering the lives of
millions of urban residents.
While data remains in the driving
seat of the smart city movement, this
information cannot flow freely without effective infrastructure.
Composite materials play an important and growing part in the success
of a smart city, and their range of
benefits create durable solutions that
help manage assets efficiently.

More information:
www.exelcomposites.com

/ jec composites magazine

http://www.exelcomposites.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Special Issue Smart Cities - November 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Special Issue Smart Cities - November 2019