Scaling Up Carbon Fiber: Roadmap to Automotive Adoption

Carbon-fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) have historically been priced out of mainstream automotive application, and will be until nascent emerging methods and materials accelerate process throughput and bring down the prohibitively high CFRP price tag. Based on technology development trends, we predict widespread automotive adoption will likely occur in the mid-2020s. However, in this report we also explore drivers beyond material and process technology, such as regulation, competing and complementary technologies, consumer perception, industry dynamics, and large-scale megatrends, that will shape the timeline and extent of automotive CFRP adoption.