U.S. government companies join hands to develop low-cost carbon fiber

The U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. National Energy Technology Laboratory are working with Zoltek Cos. Inc. The company negotiated the development and commercialization of a low-cost carbon fiber production method.

Zoltek, headquartered in St. Louis, USA, is a technology developer and carbon fiber producer. The company announced that it has been selected to participate in a cooperation negotiation. The government department will reward its application for the development and commercialization of a new type of low-cost carbon fiber. Give 3.7 million U.S. dollars in financial aid. The fund is part of a $175 million grant for advanced automotive R&D.

George Husman, chief technology officer at Zoltek, said: "This is an exciting project for Zoltek, which is of great significance to the future development of carbon fiber, especially for carbon fiber automotive applications."

Zoltek stated that in the past year and a half, the company and its partner Weyerhaeuser Co. The company uses a lignin/PAN mixed precursor to develop low-cost carbon fiber production methods.