More innovative, lighter and faster: Jaguar Land Rover’s revolutionary advanced composite materials project

Jaguar Land Rover is preparing for the future of electric vehicles with research into advanced lightweight composite materials that will deliver improved range, increased performance, and a more dynamic driving experience.

Project Tucana is a four-year program that will position the UK at the global forefront of low-emission CO2 technology, helping to reduce CO2 emissions by 4.5 million tonnes between 2023 and 2032. This will help drive down CO2 emissions by 4.5 million tonnes between 2023 and 2032, thanks to the increased use of electric vehicles and the manufacture of lighter cars. These lighter weights will reduce emissions and the energy consumption of their electric motors.

Through this research, Jaguar Land Rover will develop lightweight vehicle and engine structures by replacing aluminum and steel with composites capable of handling the increased torque generated by high-performance batteries, while also improving efficiency and reducing the CO2 footprint.

Jaguar Land Rover expects to increase vehicle rigidity by 30%, reduce vehicle weight by up to 35 kg, and further refine the crash safety structure through the strategic use of tailored composites, such as carbon fiber. Furthermore, the vehicle weight reduction will allow for larger batteries with increased range without impacting CO2 emissions.

Advanced composites offer significant vehicle weight savings, and by 2022, Jaguar Land Rover expects to have developed a fleet of Tucana prototype test vehicles.

The consortium, led by Jaguar Land Rover, brings together world-leading academic and industry partners, including Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), Expert Tooling & Automation, Broetje-Automation UK, Toray International UK, CCP Gransden, and The Centre for Modeling & Simulation (CFMS).

“The development of new, lighter body structures will complement the most innovative zero-emission powertrains and will be key to the future electrification of our vehicles. This project will demonstrate the true environmental capabilities of electric vehicles by broadening the adoption of the technology, and will place Jaguar Land Rover and the UK supply chain at the forefront of low-carbon technologies.”

Marcus Henry
Research Manager, Jaguar Land Rover

“Tucana demonstrates that the development of new technologies can be optimized and accelerated through digital engineering. With new digital manufacturing, development, and design tools, emissions will be reduced more quickly, helping the UK economy achieve net-zero emissions sooner.”

Ian Risk
Chief Technology Officer, CFMS

The continued electrification of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles is part of our commitment to creating a safer and healthier society through innovative technologies. Jaguar has completed the electrification of its PACE family with the addition of the P330e plug-in hybrid powertrain in the new E-PACE and the P400e in the F-PACE, which together with the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE form the Jaguar PACE family. The Range Rover Velar also now offers the P400e powertrain, completing the hybrid options available across the Range Rover family.

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