Carbon Fiber Manufacturing Facility Siting and Policy Considerations: International Comparison

Abstract

Carbon fiber is a high strength-to-weight ratio material manufactured principally from acrylonitrile, which is increasingly being used in a variety of applications, including recreational products, automobiles, aircraft, wind turbines, and gas pressure vessels. Manufacturing costs can vary between $10 and $25 per kilogram for industrial grades of carbon fiber, and they largely depend on the type and quality of fiber produced (Das et al. 2016). Cumulative demand for carbon fiber has been projected to grow 10% per year between 2015 and 2024 (Sloan 2015a; see Figure ES-1). Figure ES-1. Projected demand for carbon fiber, by selected industrial application (metric tons) Data are from Sloan 2015a. This report is a follow-on report to CEMAC's initial analysis of the competitiveness of the global carbon fiber composites supply chain. That report (Das et al. 2016) provided an analysis of carbon fiber and carbon fiber polymer composites supply, demand, markets, and manufacturing costs. This report focuses on carbon fiber manufacturing siting and policy considerations. The current global carbon fiber manufacturing industry is predominately located in the United States, Japan, Europe, and China (Figure ES-2). Figure ES-2. Location of carbon fiber manufacturing capacity worldwide Source: Das 2016 Manufacturing facilities for carbon fiber and associated products can offer significant economic development and employment opportunities. For example, Toray has committed to a $1 billion 0

Challenges and Opportunities in Developing Project Management Decision-Making Tools

“…PM tools in biomaterials development have been used during project start-up, planning, site selection, and policy establishment of lignin-based carbon fiber production for applications in lightweight vehicles (Cook and Booth, 2017;Das et al, 2016;Yang et al, 2013). (Yang et al, 2013), (2) bottom-up estimation during development, which has been used by researchers in global carbon fiber composites supply chain (Das et al, 2016), (3) economic viability estimation including costs of labor, energy, quality, and regulatory compliance (Cook and Booth, 2017), (4) building and training tools for workforce development programs (Cook and Booth, 2017), and (5) data management tools for project monitoring. These studies suggested that communication channels are better facilitated by co-location and clustering facilities near end users.…”

Analysis of Supply Chains and Advanced Manufacturing of Small Hydropower Systems

“…While detailed analysis has not been done on the cost of debt for manufacturers to purchase and set up new equipment, or on the high CAPEX needed for setting up a manufacturing facility, it is expected these would be key determinants on manufacturing location. CEMAC has undertaken detailed manufacturing location analysis for other clean energy technologies, such as carbon fiber manufacturing siting, which identified the key role of debt and CAPEX needed in siting new facilities (Cook and Booth 2017). Further analysis will be required to connect potential future growth either in domestic or international SHP markets to potential areas for U.S. SHP manufacturing capacity expansion.…”

“…Applications of CF currently include high performance automobiles, aircraft sections, wind turbine blades, and gas pressure vessels. Depending on location and sourcing of the precursors and raw materials, the manufactured cost can be $10-$25/kg for industrial grades of CF (Cook and Booth 2017). Figure 14 shows how multiple CF filaments, through precise automation and machinery, can be wound rotationally around symmetrical parts such as shafts, pipes, beams, and vessels/containers (Connova 2017).…”

A Low Energy Recycling Technique of Carbon Fibers-Reinforced Epoxy Matrix Composites

“…Recently, in Europe, recycling of more than 85% of the CFRPs used in automobiles is an obligatory policy. 18 Therefore, it is necessary to develop an energy-efficient recycling technology in order to expand the CFRP markets. Additionally, the price of CF yarn is about $30/kg, and the energy required for manufacturing is about 150−300 kWh/ kg.…”

“…Sending conventional CFRPs to landfill should be avoided for both environmental and economic aspects. Recently, in Europe, recycling of more than 85% of the CFRPs used in automobiles is an obligatory policy . Therefore, it is necessary to develop an energy-efficient recycling technology in order to expand the CFRP markets.…”