Public Funding for Carbon Forest Products Limited

Manufacturing methods that enable economies of scale or better performance have been highlighted as one of the key challenges of automotive PE supply chains, with specific reference to better heatsinks developing by 2035 (APC,2021). In addition, the UK is aiming to transition the automotive industry to NetZero by 2035, an ambitious target with current raw material requirements increasing. Carbon Forest Products will conduct a feasibility study to demonstrate the potential for the UK PEMD supply chain to introduce the world's first 3D graphite heatsink for use in automotive thermal management systems. The project builds on previous research and development projects which proved that 3D printing of lignin via selective laser sintering could produce complex geometries with both thermally and electrically conductive properties for the static CPU server market. This project will also demonstrate potential for scale up of manufacture by adjusting existing machinery to facilitate faster additive manufacturing print times .

Carbon Forest Products working with the University of Exeter's Centre for Additive Layer Manufacturing, want to transform the computer server heatsink market, through the development of innovative 3D Carbon heatsinks. Carbon Forest Products have demonstrated the novel capability of creating 3D printed carbon, a waste by-product of the paper industry. Through this project Carbon Forest Products will expand on this work, developing heatsinks made from renewable forestry feedstock which will be manufactured through selective laser sintering, providing a significantly lower carbon impact alternative to metal heatsinks, with additional thermal and light-weighting benefits. Microprocessor thermal efficiency has not kept pace with continued miniaturisation, creating a thermal dissipation technical challenge, affecting microprocessor design and data centre operational efficiency in terms of cooling demand and server density. Cloud operations comprising thousands of servers working together generate tremendous amounts of heat, with 40% of data centre energy typically consumed to meet server cooling demands. The global heatsinks market is estimated to reach £7.55bn by 2026, driven by demand for cloud computing, with a surge in demand due to an increase in remote working caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, further accelerating the need for energy efficient and environmentally sustainable equipment.

London Forest Products is developing 3D carbon heatsinks which thermally, economically and sustainably outperform the current aluminium and copper industry standard.

* Challenge - Ageing population and lifestyle factors incl obesity are contributing to a rise in hip replacements and revisions. UK annually spends £174m on 80k hip replacements (Nat Joint Registry, 2016). * Content and objectives - The project will establish a detailed material specification leading to innovative implant manufacture, matching the characteristics of human bone.