How Carbon Fiber Is Made (And Why It May Get Banned)

If you've spent anytime around performance vehicles — cars, high speed boats, aircraft, bicycles, etc. — you've likely seen carbon fiber used somewhere in the construction. It might seem like wizardry at first; it's weird looking, really lightweight, and super strong. Supercars like the Lamborghini Aventador rely on carbon fiber for a large portion of the car's frame. The material is certainly cutting edge, and expensive — carbon fiber accents on a BMW M5, for example, are a $3,000 option — but the process through which it is made is relatively straightforward.

As for what carbon fiber actually is, the name gives most of what you need to know. It's made out of flexible, high strength filaments of carbon. That fiber filament is then wound into a fabric of sorts that is molded and cut into whatever shape is needed. Carbon fiber is then strengthened and, through heat and pressure, hardened with a resin that allows it to keep shape. The resulting car door panel, aircraft fuselage, or bike frame is up to 50% lighter than the same part made out of steel, according to BMW. 

The European Union has taken issue in the past with carbon fiber. Not the material itself, but more about how it is recycled. Road & Track notes that the EU was concerned with how carbon fiber is broken down and disposed of when a vehicle or object reaches the end of its life. 

The resin and carbon particles generated by disposed carbon fiber could pose a hazard to human health, according to the EU. Motor1's Italian publication reached out to the European Union for clarification, as it was potentially drafting legislation that would ban its use in automotive production as early as 2029. That would leave a large number of automakers in the lurch when it comes to lightweight materials.

Fortunately, for lightweight components on your favorite sports car, it seems that the EU has taken a few steps back from the ban, for now. However, now that the question has been raised, and enough legal talk has arisen, there's no reason why the EU couldn't change course in the future and try to ban it again. It may behoove automakers to start researching other lightweight materials while they have the time. After all, necessity is the mother of invention.