Cost-FRM - Cost-effective fire resisting composite materials

The Cost-FRM project will contribute to reducing ships' energy consumption and emissions by paving the way for a higher use of fiber-reinforced composites in the shipbuilding industry. While composites provide superior strength to weight compared to steel, their fit in ship construction is somewhat limited, especially because the materials are flammable. The complexity and cost of building fire protection systems for ships is very high, which slows down an increased use of composites.

Traditional fire protection solutions for composite vessels require significant installation work to be carried out in narrow and complex spaces on the vessels. The installation phase, where the number of workers is high, becomes a bottleneck in production, which leads to less efficient work with significantly higher man-hours.

The purpose of the Cost-FRM project is to find a solution to this problem and to develop composite panels that meet the requirements of FRM (Fire Restriciting Material) and FRD (Fire Resistant Division). All components in the panel are integrated during a slim manufacturing process, which results in higher work efficiency and significant cost savings for the shipyard builder.