Year Carbon Fiber (CF) Market
2007 35,000 tons
2008 40,000 tons
2009 46,000 tons
2010 52,000 tons
2011 60,000 tons
2012 69,000 tons
2015 88,000 tons
70-80% of the CF market is for industrial purposes (10-15% growth in industrial), but the market for aircraft parts is growing the fastest (15-24% growth). The overall market is projected to grow at 10-15% per year.
A new and growing CF market will be for car parts and body panels.
Using 100kg in 6.5 million cars would see a CF market of 654,000 tons per year in the 2020s.
Japanese carmakers have plans to reduce vehicle weight and improve fuel economy from 2010 an beyond.
CF are getting stronger with smaller defects.
FURTHER READING
Toray expansion plans from 2007
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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