The future of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) market looks promising with opportunities in diverse applications such as in body in white (BIW), chassis systems, powertrain systems, exterior, interior and others slowly increasing. Carbon fibers are organic materials that have been heat-treated at temperatures of 1,000–3,000°C and generally contain 92–99.9% carbon. Due to their high strength and stiffness, lightweight, higher strength-to-weight ratios, corrosion resistance and workability and other favourable properties they are mainly used as reinforcing agents in high-performance composites.
A major growth driver for this market in the long run will be increasing demand for lightweight materials in the automotive industry driven by stringent government regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency. Saving even a few pounds of a vehicle’s weight adds improvements to performance and fuel consumption.
Considering its potential in the automotive industry, suppliers and automakers are already making significant investments in order to develop a robust supply chain for the lightweight material.
Rising investment and collaborations
Currently, Toray Industries, SGL Group, and Mitsubishi Rayon are among the major suppliers of the material. Toray Industries’ current annual global carbon fiber production capacity is nearly 44 thousand metric tons. In 2014, Toray acquired Zoltek, which gave Toray entry into the industrial-grade large tow carbon fiber market. In February this year Toray announced plans to strengthen its carbon fiber business by investing JPY100 billion (around USD880 million) over the next three years, according Asia Nikkei Review. Toray’s carbon fiber business, which accounts for annual sales in the range of JPY10-20 billion, currently focuses on exterior parts. Zoltek has also recently announced plans to double production capacity at its Mexican facility to more than 10,000 tonnes of carbon fiber annually.Together with existing carbon fiber capacity at its Hungarian facility, Toray’s total global capacity will be more than 20,000 tons per year.
In January this year, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, through its subsidiary Mitsubishi Rayon's US unit, said it would acquire a carbon fiber plant SGL Carbon Fibers LLC (SCF) in the United States. The acquisition of SCF, currently run by Germany's SGL Group, will add 1,000 tons of annual output capacity and will help the company address rising demand for the material.
Increased focus on lightweight materials for automotive applications has resulted in the establishment of joint ventures and collaborations between material suppliers and car manufacturers.
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OEM-supplier collaboration on carbon fiber |
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Supplier |
OEM |
Scope of collaboration |
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SGL |
BMW |
CFRP in passenger compartments for i-series EVs; CFRP rocker panels, roof bows, pillars, and transmission tunnel in 7 series |
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DowAksa |
Ford |
To produce lower-cost carbon fiber solutions for higher-volume automobile production. Uses carbon fiber for its wheels in its GT350R model |
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Teijin (Japan) |
General Motors |
To develop CFRP composites for use in cars and trucks |
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Magna |
Ford |
CFRP in chassis applications; Magna has developed a prototype carbon fiber composite subframe, in cooperation with Ford. The new concept can deliver a 34% mass reduction over stamped steel equivalent. |
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BASF, Montaplast |
Ford |
To develop advanced composite powertrain components as part of the Department of Energy (DOE) Multi-Material Lightweight Vehicle (MMLV) demonstration project. |
High cost still an issue
Currently, auto parts made of CFRP are mostly used in luxury or performance cars and not in mass-produced vehicles due to their high manufacturing costs. Now that many more automakers are increasing their investments in CFRP, costs are coming down slightly. Additionally, new technologies are enabling these components to be produced more efficiently. A partnership between the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) and DuPont Performance Materials, Fibrtec and Purdue University, was established in August 2016 with the aim of decreasing the cost of carbon fiber manufacture and increasing design flexibility for automotive composites.
Furthermore, improvements in carbon fiber processing technology such as resin transfer molding (RTM) have allowed for more cost-effective uses of carbon fiber composites and prepregs. For instance, RTM can lead to the production of large complex parts that have good mechanical performance, tight dimensional tolerance and high surface finish. Also, compared with compression molding, RTM can reduce costs because it does not use a press system to compact the preform.
Martino says that in terms of penetration, CFRP is currently being used mostly in high-end models and premium cars only and not lower end models because of its high cost. Martino believes that CFRP will remain focused on E and F segments up to 2025, after which, it will depend on the level of further cost reductions in order to penetrate the lower segments. Manufacturing groups with a portfolio of brands comprising both mass and premium brands would benefit from synergies and will be more able to apply CFRP in their mass market models by applying best practices coming from the premium brands.
Outlook for carbon fiber market
The carbon fiber market has continued to grow strongly, with supply increasing to meet rising global demand. In the next few years, overall world consumption of carbon fibers is expected to grow by 8 to 9% per annum. According to IHS Markit, the global consumption of carbon fibers stood at 61.6 thousand metric tons in 2015, up from 43.5 thousand metric tons in 2012. This is expected to increase to 92.36 thousand metric tons in 2020. Global capacity has grown from about 101 thousand metric tons in 2012 to more than 126 thousand metric tons in 2015. Capacity has mainly increased in the United States, China, and South Korea. By 2020, the average car will incorporate nearly 350 kilograms of plastics, up from 200 kilograms in 2014. According to IHS Markit, usage of carbon fiber in automotive manufacturing is expected to increase to 9,800 metric tons in 2030, up from 3,400 in 2013.
Despite so many collaborations happening in the field of CFRP in automotive applications and efforts to reduce cost, wide-scale adoption of carbon fiber in volume vehicles is unlikely within the next decade. Paolo Martino, principal analyst, IHS Markit says, “Large-scale, mainstream CFRP automotive adoption before 2025 is unlikely. CFRP is too costly right now, both from the mere material cost standpoint and from the manufacturing cost. Mass market OEMs are looking for suitable solutions in the short- to medium-term to fight against their biggest issue: emission target compliance. For doing that, they are exploring materials like high strength steel and ultra-high strength steel. The best they can reach at the moment is aluminium, but only in selected component areas.”
BIW and chassis will be main application areas, for now
In terms of automotive applications, CFRP is currently most commonly used in body in white (BIW) and chassis systems. Martino says there are some components also in the powertrain area which can use CFRP, but that they minor scale parts. He believes that in the short term BIW and chassis will remain the areas with high usage of CFRP.
Among automakers, BMW stands out as a pioneer in CFRP use. In partnership with SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers, BMW produces carbon fibers itself. BMW first invested in carbon-fiber supplier SGL in 2009, a relationship that continues with BMW investing USD200 million more in 2014 to push production capacity from 6,000 tons to 9,000 tons annually. BMW uses the materials in the i-Series electric and plug-in hybrid cars; the first time that the company has used CFRP for large-scale series production. BMW also uses carbon fiber in the passenger frame of i3 EV.
For a long time, the use of carbon was limited because it had to be produced manually. Today, the BMW Group produces the carbon fibers and carbon fiber plates itself, which makes large-scale series production possible. Furthermore, as part of the automaker’s intelligent lightweight construction, BMW M6 Gran Coupé’s roof is made of CFRP that helps reduce the vehicle’s mass. BMW M5 Sedan, M6 coupe and M6 convertible feature carbon ceramic brake. The automaker says the application of an innovative carbon fiber compound ceramic makes the braking power even more direct and improves brake-fade stabilization.
BMW is one of the founding partners of MAI Carbon, a cluster group consisting of 72 businesses, educational and research institutions as well as organizations from the Munich-Augsburg-Ingolstadt region in Germany. The main objective MAI Carbon is to make the substance carbon fit for serial production, in user areas including automobile and aerospace, and to turn the Munich-Augsburg-Ingolstadt region into a European competence centre for CFRP lightweight construction.
Other automakers are also following the lead. For instance, in March this year, Renault showcased its full-electric concept car with a carbon fiber body. Audi’s new A8 features what the company calls an ‘intelligent mix of four materials – aluminium, steel, magnesium and CFRP’ in the body structure. The new A8 includes a platform that benefits from a 33% increase in torsional rigidity, an improvement that comes from the use of CFRP rear panel implemented on the model. The component has between 6 and 19 layers of fiber placed one on top of the other. These layers consist of 50mm-wide fiber tapes in ways that require minimal trimming. Audi, too, is one of the founding partners of MAI Carbon cluster.
This month, auto part supplier Faurecia joined the MAI Carbon cluster with an aim to develop manufacturing processes capable of reaching automotive cycle times for mass production of composite parts. According to Faurecia, composites will contribute significantly toward the automaker’s goal of weight reduction. Using carbon composites will provide weight savings of around 50% versus the equivalent part made from steel. Ten kilograms of weight savings reduce CO2 emissions by 1g/km. Faurecia is also a member of the FORCE consortium in France which has the aim of producing low cost carbon fiber for the automotive industry.
Wider application foreseen
In the long term, IHS SupplierInsight expects carbon fiber will be used in more automotive applications, including in high-load powertrain components. According to a report in Design News, Eaton engineers are combining steel with carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics to cut weight in high-load, high-volume powertrain applications, such as differential housings and transmission gear sets.
According to the report, the company is working with at least two automakers on replacement of cast iron differential housings with hybrid parts made from steel and CFRP. The hybrid housing, which is subjected to torques as high as 4,000 lb-ft, uses a steel frame to carry the higher loads and employs the CFRP to carry medium-level loads. Even with its equivalent load-carrying capacity, Eaton claims that it weighs about 40% less than the cast iron version.
Development trends underway in fiber, resin, and composite part production strongly suggest that by the mid-2020s it will be technically and economically feasible for automotive OEMs to make mainstream vehicles that use significant amounts of CFRPs.
Analyst Details: Arti Anand
