Lyten, the supermaterial applications company and 3D graphene specialist, has launched the new venture Lyten Motorsports, in partnership with Indycar Experience, to bring Lyten’s material science innovations to motorsports parts through.
Lyten’s 3D graphene is a foundational, carbon-based material that can be tuned to meet the specific needs of high-performance applications, impacting material properties like strength, weight, conductivity and permeability.
The company is currently using the 3D graphene platform to build lithium-sulfur batteries approaching twice the energy density of lithium-ion while eliminating 85% of the mined minerals, such as nickel, cobalt and graphite. Lyten is using the strength, weight and conductivity of its materials to design and build parts that “push the limit of strength-to-weight ratio in motorsports”, it said.
“Material science is creating a future that is lighter, stronger and safer, while reducing our impact on the planet,” said Dan Cook, Lyten co-founder and CEO. “Motorsports sit at the apex of materials innovation, where small improvements make the difference in speed and safety. The introduction of carbon fiber revolutionized the sport, and we believe Lyten 3D graphene can be the next materials revolution in motorsports.”
Lyten will continue to execute materials research and development at its headquarters in Silicon Valley and has opened a design and manufacturing facility in Indianapolis in Indiana, for motorsport parts, co-located with the Indycar Experience headquarters.
The company is currently manufacturing 3D printed parts using its proprietary filaments and adhesives and quickly expanding into autoclave manufacturing to meet market demands. Lyten has said it will be further enhancing the performance of carbon-fiber parts and identifying metal parts that can be converted into lighter, lower cost composite parts. Lyten Motorsports says it plans to develop parts for a broad range of US and international racing series.
“Motorsports is a high-growth, technology-enabled industry and challenge number one is pushing the bounds of known materials. There is tremendous demand for that next materials innovation and Lyten has it with its 3D graphene platform,” said Scott Jasek, CEO of Indycar Experience. “I am excited to use our base in Indianapolis to scale up US manufacturing of motorsport parts and bring with it technology focused jobs.”
The company has been testing new material designs on the Indycar Experience two-seat Indycar for more than two years and will continue to use the platform to accelerate parts development.
In related news, Porsche Engineering recently developed the TABASKO construction method, in which polypropylene components are reinforced with strategically placed carbon fiber tapes. Click here to read the full story
