Low Cost Carbon Fibre for Automotive Applications Part 1: Low Cost Carbon Fibre Development

Abstract

In pursuit of the goal to produce ultra-lightweight fuel efficient vehicles, there has been great excitement during the last few years about the potential for using carbon fibre reinforced composites in high volume applications. Currently, the greatest hurdle that inhibits wider implementation of carbon fibre composites in transportation is the high cost of carbon fibre when compared to other candidate materials. However, significant research is being conducted to develop lower cost, high volume technologies for producing carbon fibre. This chapter will highlight ongoing research in this area.