ICURe FullStop - Cohort 39, Team 06

The rise of the global electric vehicle (EV) market has led to a major upheaval in the braking sector due to the use of regenerative braking systems, which reduce the use of conventional brakes by 95%. This was expected to end the routine replacement of brake pads, however, experience on vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt, Kia Soul and Toyota Prius has shown that, while the friction material can last up to 100k miles, brake pads must be replaced in as little 7.5k miles due to corrosion of the steel backing plate debonding the friction material. This is because brakes are no longer used often enough to prevent excessive moisture build up. In addition, the corrosion itself is a key component of non-exhaust emissions, an area soon to be heavily legislated against in the upcoming Euro 7 standards. Furthermore, modern EVs still require conventional brakes for scenarios where more than 0.4g of deceleration is required and emergency stopping scenarios and must be designed to work in the advent of failure of the regenerative system. Given that EVs weigh on average 25% more than their combustion engine counterparts, this requires reciprocally bigger and heavier conventional braking systems, impacting range and emissions whilst being effectively redundant for the vast majority of braking scenarios.

Tribol Braking Ltd. has found a highly effective solution to this problem in the form of carbon fibre composite backing plates (CBPs) that match the performance of steel plates, are 70% lighter, are immune to corrosion issues and will therefore perform as a lifetime item. This saves resources, cuts waste and emissions, and improves vehicle range. In addition, the composite used possesses extremely low thermal conductivity compared to metals. This makes the CBP extremely attractive to the race sector, where the lightweighting coupled with the significantly reduced risk of brake fluid boil offers a noticeable advantage over metal plates. Importantly for the prospects of mass adoption in the automotive sector, motorsport has a longstanding reputation for being the testbed for new technologies making their way to passenger cars and the mass market.

The CBPs, developed with the University of Exeter, use a unique combination of materials and specialised surface treatments that allow optimised bonding of the new plates to the friction material. Brake pads using our technology have passed all industry standard and internal qualifications and are ready to make their presence felt in the $8.2bn brake pad market.