Teijin Limited announced that its Tenax carbon fiber and carbon fiber thermoplastic unidirectional pre-impregnated tape (Tenax TPUD) were qualified by Boeing and registered in its qualified products list. Teijin will supply Tenax TPUD as an intermediate advanced composite material for primary structural parts for Boeing.

Since Teijin and Boeing signed a Qualification Agreement in June 2016, the two companies have been working on material qualification testing and application study of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTP) for primary structure parts.

Teijin plans to begin commercial shipments of Tenax TPUD to Boeing approved parts makers within the next two years.

Tenax TPUD is a carbon fiber thermoplastic unidirectional pre-impregnated tape made with thermoplastic resin and achieves high heat, impact and fatigue resistances and helps to reduce production costs and improve component manufacturing efficiency thanks to its shortened molding process.

Teijin focuses on the aircraft business as one of the growth strategies in its medium-term management plan for 2017-2019 and is intensively accelerating its development of mid- to downstream applications, such as cost-effective carbon fibers with higher-tenacity and higher-tensile modulus, intermediate materials including Tenax TPUD, carbon fiber thermoplastic consolidated laminate (Tenax TPCL), thermoset prepreg and non-crimp fabric.

Going forward, Teijin intends to further strengthen its carbon fiber and its intermediate material business as a leading solution provider for aircraft applications, targeting annual sales in this field in excess of US$900 million by around 2030.