Composite Engineering Challenge

The challenge is now closed. The winners will be announced shortly. 

The Composite Engineering Challenge invited innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, and scaleups to submit projects that make use of fiber-reinforced composites.

The challenge received submissions from over 20 countries. The jury has selected ten finalists and three special recommendation projects. 

The final ten are now being reviewed by the jury, and the overall winner will be announced on February 21, 2023. 

The Wevolver Community Vote is selected by the engineering community. The winner will receive an honorable mention at the awards ceremony and be brought to the attention of senior management of MCG and the Venture group of MCG. Further, the winner will be interviewed for an article published on Growth Garage and Wevolver.   

Read about the ten finalists and then head to the voting page to cast your choice. 

VOTE NOW

The challenge will award innovative products / projects that make use of fiber-reinforced composites.

The challenge is open for innovators, entrepreneurs, (pre-) startups and scaleups.

We welcome projects, programs, and companies in the field of new mobility (EV, e-motor, battery casing, etc.), autonomous vehicles, people movers, robotics, aerospace, space, bicycles, UAV, AAV, bionics (wheelchairs, exoskeletons, prosthetics), alternative energy, sport & leisure, alternative (low carbon footprint) fibers and more!

ASK ANY QUESTION REGARDING THE CHALLENGE

Challenge Awards

Overall Jury Winner: Business, manufacturing, and design support package worth $25,000.

The winner of the Composites Engineering Challenge is awarded a $25,000 partnership with Growth Garage, the Business Incubator of the MCG Advanced Materials Division, to develop their product or part in a way that enables them to scale their production. 

This may be a combination of technical, design, business advice, prototype development, or other manufacturing assistance. The prize is designed with the winner to give them the resources and support they need at their specific production and business stage. 

This includes but is not limited to:

Hands-on Support

• Support in material/technology selection.
• Support to design for manufacturing.
• Support in tool design.
• Support to scale your production. 
• Support in providing a cost prognosis for medium to high-volume production and prototyping.

Access to resources

• Access to MCG's latest carbon-reinforced composite materials (thermoset and thermoplastic-based) at scale.
• Access to part production manufacturing technologies at scale (either at MCG or within the partner network).

Exposure to Wider Network 

• Opportunity for equity investment via MCG's CVC arm (Diamond Edge Ventures).
• Exposure to potential customers.
• Access to experts in community and jury.
• Global exposure in various media outlets.

Innovations for a Circular Economy 

• Access to circularity and sustainability experts.
• Access to composites with a low carbon footprint by using recycled Carbon Fiber (rCF).
• Access to the take-back program (production waste or end-of-live parts).

The total value of this package is $25,000 and is developed together between the winning team, Growth Garage, and MCG Advanced Materials Division. Read about previous challenge winners and the support they received here.

Innovation Award: Business, manufacturing, and design support package worth support worth $10,000. 

The innovation award will be awarded to the most impactful, differentiated, innovative idea. 

The Innovation Award Winner of the Composites Engineering Challenge will enter a partnership with Growth Garage, Business Incubator of the MCG Advanced Materials Division, to further develop their product or part to scale their project. 

This may be a combination of technical, design, business advice, prototype development, or other manufacturing assistance. The total value of this package is $10,000 and is developed together between the winning team and Growth Garage. 

Wevolver Community Winner: Media package and Venture pitch.  

The winner will receive an honorable mention at the awards ceremony and be brought to the attention of senior management of MCG and the Venture group of MCG. Further, the winner will be interviewed for an article published on Growth Garage and Wevolver.   

Composite Engineering Challenge Introduction Webinar

In this recorded webinar, Tim Vorage, Global Growth Manager at (Growth Garage, Business Incubator of the MCG Advanced Materials Division). introduces the composite challenge, discusses the latest in carbon fiber technology, and provides insight into how to create a competitive advantage.

Challenge the status quo of composites’ scalability

Who can enter?

The challenge is open to any business, research team, or project currently working on a product or part manufactured from or suitable for composites with the ambition to ramp up its production.  The challenge is open to teams and companies around the world.

If you have the ambition to scale your production either now or in the future – this is the opportunity for you.

Do you have the ambition to:

• Design, develop and produce a prototype based on fiber-reinforced composite materials
• Replace metal with fiber-reinforced composite materials
• Shift from a manual to an automated, medium/high volume production process
• Reduce your products carbon footprint (light-weighting, rCF, alternative fibers)
• Introducing smart composites for self-sensing or self-healing
• Efficiently scale the (manual) production of your composite part and need the right material/design/manufacturing combination or investment.

Mitsubishi Chemical Group and Growth Garage, Business Incubator of the MCG Advanced Materials Division will help you take you from where you are to the next level of production, assisting with design and business mentorship, material selection, and manufacturing.  

If you are unsure if you qualify to enter, please contact the Business Incubator Growth Garage team directly at growthgarage@mcam.com. 

The Judging Criteria

The jury will reward projects that prioritize sustainability and push the boundaries of lightweighting while maintaining high feasibility and ingenuity.

We welcome submissions at all stages of growth and production.

Register to submit here. 

The 2022 Composite Engineering Challenge Jury

Tim Vorage - Global Growth Manager at (Growth Garage, Business Incubator of the MCG Advanced Materials Division).

Dr. Lisa Weigand - Advisor Circular Economy at Mitsubishi Chemical Europe.

Bram Geenen – Founder and CEO, Wevolver.

Randy White - President -Engineered Solutions at MCG Advanced Materials Division

Mark Geljon - Customer Experience leader, change-maker, and social entrepreneur.

Jules Harings - Associate Professor & Group leader Macromolecular Physics & Technology at AMIBM / Maastricht University.

Dr. Peter Walde - Founder & CEO at MAPEGY.

Andy Rudd - Global New Business Development Manager, Mitsubishi Chemical Methacrylates.

Henning Bloech  - Global Director Sustainable Solutions MCG Advanced Materials Division

Will Chan - Composites Engineering Manager, Specialized Bicycle Components.

Fumiko Uraki - Director of Venture Department at Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation.

Jonas Grau Thomsen - CEO and Founder of Nordic Bionics / Thought leader/InfluencerNordic Bionics - Rehabilitation and Wearable Technology.

David Leach - Director, Business Development ATC Manufacturing

Stefan Schnippering - Venture Associate, Ph.D., Diamond Edge Ventures

Key Dates

Enter the Challenge here

Mitsubishi Composite Toolbox

Mitsubishi Chemical Group has developed the Composites Toolbox, a combination of high-quality composite materials, experts, and manufacturing methods to rewrite what’s possible in engineering.  By replacing traditional materials with composite solutions that meet future performance, consumer, and sustainability requirements, more engineers can help enhance the world.

The Composite toolbox includes a variety of materials; ranging from glass, carbon, or natural fiber reinforcements with a thermoset or thermoplastic matrix. A reduction of the environmental footprint can be obtained with low carbon footprint solutions, such as” recycled carbon fiber (rCF), recycled thermoplastics, or biobased thermoset resins.

Are you using a manual layup and think you need to compromise on freedom of design? The design freedom of some of these materials, such as KyronTEX, enables new designs at scale with high process efficiency due to the elimination of various intermediate process steps.

From a custom thermoplastic carbon composite organofleece into a part in 1 compression molding step, i.e. no intermediate lamination, placement, and consolidation steps required.

Further reading and resources:

• Growth Garage, Business Incubator of the MCG Advanced Materials Division
• MCG Composite Toolbox
• Discovering Advanced Composites
• Carbon Fiber Recycling: Accelerating Aerospace Circularity

For more information get in touch with Wevolver Content Director, Jessica Miley.

About the sponsor: Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials & Growth Garage

MCG Advanced Materials Division is a leading global manufacturer of high-performance materials in the form of semi-finished products and finished parts. The company has locations in 20 countries and more than 2,800 employees. Its specialty engineering thermoplastics and composites are superior in performance to metals and other materials and are used in a wide range of applications, primarily in the capital goods industry. The company is continuously developing new areas of applications in close cooperation with industry leaders in a wide variety of customer markets. 

Growth Garage is the Business Incubator of the MCG Advanced Materials Division. Our mission is to support and grow new ideas using our technologies and advanced engineering materials to help tackle some of today's biggest engineering challenges. We are offering the opportunity for engineers and innovators to pitch us their ideas and receive manufacturing support and services.