● SK chemicals’ SKYFLEX®, Korean No.1 prepreg seals the win of 2016 International Student Green Car Competition

- A race car with a whopping 70% reduction of body weight using SK chemicals’ carbon composite material claimed the title
- The pride of being Korea’s No.1 prepreg M/S will be felt throughout the automobile parts market



SK chemicals’ prepreg named SKYFLEX® (hereinafter SKYFLEX) showed the future of lightweight automobiles.

SK chemicals announced on June 1 that an automobile using SK chemicals’ SKYFLEX® won the title in the 2016 International Student Green Car Competition held at KATRI (Korea Automobile Testing & Research Institute) in Hwaseong Complex, Korea.

The title winner by KUST (Kookmin University Solar Car Team) weighed only 4.5kg, the same as a super baby. That is thanks to SK chemicals’ SKFLEX® that reduced the body weight by a dramatic 70%. KUST`s previous automobile using aluminum weighed 15kg.

Prepreg used in the winner entry is a carbon composite of epoxy resin, thermoplastic resin and fibers including carbon fiber, glass fiber and aramid fiber. With 10 times the strength of steel while having only one-quarter of its weight, SKFLEX now takes center stage in the automobile industry.

In fact, KUST`s automobile named Hon (魂) outran competitors made of aluminum and/or glass fiber and ranked No.1 in acceleration (8.614 seconds per 150m) and No.2 in driving performance (1 hour and 2 minutes per 45km) with remarkable stability at speeds reaching 80km/h though it weighed only 4.5kg.

SKYFLEX® facilitates more accurate molding than other materials, making it easier to build a streamlined shape to reduce air resistance.

"We were able to win the competition because of our compact design and lightweight body made of SK chemicals’ prepreg SKYFLEX® ,” said Lee Wongyu, president of KUST (third year student at College of Automobile Engineering, Kookmin University). He also said that KUST will compete in the 2016 KSAE Baja & Formula with SKYFLEX® .

"SKYFLEX® is No.1 in the Korean prepreg market and it proved its worth in making lightweight automobiles through this competition. We will keep our pride of being the Korean No.1 in the automobile parts market", said manager Lee Cheonwoo, SK chemicals Composite Team.

KUST (Kookmin University Solar Car Team) with the automobile using SK chemicals’ prepreg SKYFLEX® , successfully finished the 2015 WSC (World Solar Car Challenge) in Australia as the first Korean team. SK chemicals has provided SKYFLEX® to KUST since 2013.

This is the 7th year of International Student Green Car Competition sponsored by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and hosted by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority and Korea Auto-vehicle Safety Association, which was held on May 27-28. Especially this year, 55 teams from 33 Korean and international universities including three teams from India, Mongolia and Indonesia came to put themselves through the race.

There were two types of vehicles, electric and hybrid, made by students and examined based on two categories: race and creative technology. KUST won the race category that`s divided into △ acceleration and braking safety (short-distance race), △ gymkhana/slalom (curve racing) and △ driving performance (long-distance race) with the highest total score in three races.

Electric vehicle using SK chemicals’ prepreg SKYFLEX® won the 2016 International Student Green Car Competition.SKYFLEX is Korea’s No.1 prepreg product with a wide range of applications from leisure sporting goods such as golf to bicycle through aviation. It especially draws great attention from the automobile industry where lightweight vehicles are growing in popularity.


[PHOTO]
members of KUST (Kookmin University Solar Car Team) are celebrating the win by their electric vehicle made of SK chemicals’ prepreg SKYFLEX