Smart Molding International 2-2021

materials 48 smart_molding international 2/2021 A smartphone that sets new standards for lightness, slim design and sustainability is making its debut on the market this March: the Carbon 1 MK II from Berlin-based start-up Carbon Mobile. "Designed and engineered in Germany, the Carbon 1 MK II reignites miniaturization and drives sustain - ability in connected devices by replacing plastics and alumi - num with advanced composite materials for the first time", says Firas Khalifeh, CEO of Carbon Mobile. The base material for the production of the housing is a thermoplastic com - posite from the LANXESS Tepex dynalite product range. It is reinforced with fabrics of incredibly fine 1K continuous carbon fiber filaments. "Our composite material, which we developed for extremely lightweight components subjected to considerable mechanical stress, does more than just allow exceptionally thin wall thicknesses. In fact, with its high de - gree of strength and rigidity, it also helps to make the housing very robust for day-to-day use," explains Philipp Genders, Tepex expert in application development at LANXESS. "In ad - dition, the matte-black carbon-fibers give the smartphone a truly high-tech look." HyRECM Technology – overcoming physical hurdles Despite their advanced properties for producing robust yet lightweight structures, carbon fibers behave in an electro - magnetic shielding manner. This means that they block radio signals, forming a Faraday cage that rather than allowing signals to pass through, instead disperses them around the outer body of the device. Connected devices with carbon fiber, for this reason have been viewed as an impossibility by the tech industry. Following four years of research and development, Carbon Mobile’s engineers have developed a revolutionary process to unlock carbon fiber’s potential for connected devices. The patented HyRECM (Hybrid Radio Enabled Composite Mate - rial) technology fuses carbon fibers together with a comple - The world’s first carbon fiber smartphone, developed in Germany HyRECM Technology unlocks the potential for carbon based composites in connected devices. LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.1 billion in 2020. The company currently has about 14,300 employees in 33 countries. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and Europe) and FTSE4Good. Designed and engineered in Germany, the Carbon 1 MK II from Carbon Mobile is the world’s first smartphone produced with advanced carbon fiber technology All photos: Carbon Mobile