Not many people know that carbon fiber was first used by Thomas Edison while researching materials for his light bulbs. The inventor found that by carbonizing bamboo fibers through a special process, the resulting material was able to withstand the high temperatures required to light an incandescent bulb. Today, most carbon fiber is made from a chemical called polyacrilinitrile, or PAN. However, the cost of creating this high-tech material is high, which is why the adoption of CFRP in manufactured products has been relatively slow. As is the case with other cutting-edge technologies, initial applications of carbon fibre composites were explored by the aerospace industries and the military, in this case the U.S. Air Force. Today, Boeing is making extensive use of carbon fiber in its 787 commercial jet, fabricating major sections like the fuselage and the wing from this high-tech material.

Concurrent with research into making more fuel-efficient engines, longer-lasting batteries and alternative-fuel technologies is the drive of all the major car manufacturers to include carbon fibre composites in the structures of its future cars. As demonstrated by the aerospace industry, carbon fiber structures can be as strong as, or even stronger than mild steel or aluminum while being significantly lighter. In many cases, weight savings of 50% are the norm. Using a much lighter structure and body has many implications for car manufacturers. Allowing smaller engines to provide the same performance with less fuel consumption also produces less emissions. Lighter cars also have less environmental impact because of less resource consumption and lower maintenance costs (e.g. lower tire wear). One wonders if all this research would have happened if governments did not mandate higher efficiencies with less emissions.

Presently though, producing and using this material in cars is prohibitively expensive, which is why its use has been limited to racing cars and luxury sports cars for well-heeled customers. Current production costs for carbon fibre composites in the auto industry run to almost four times higher compared to using traditional materials. But here, researchers continue to discover cheaper methods to produce automotive-grade carbon fibre composites. A new method of producing this material has been developed that promises to reduce costs by 25% This process was developed at Oak Ridge Laboratories, which some people may recognize as one that was previously used for weapons development.

While carmakers like Ferrari, Porsche and Audi have used carbon fiber in their cars, it is manufacturers like BMW and Mercedes who are developing this lightweight material for mass production. Already, Mercedes has announced the production of C-Class sedans with a carbon fiber structure for sale by 2013. And BMW’s i8 cars will use CFRP for the passenger cells of this series of highly efficient cars. The rest of the world’s top manufacturers are not far behind and continued research and government regulations will result in cars made extensively from carbon fibre composites.

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