Technology:
Carbon fiber is 10
times stronger than iron, though it weighs only a quarter of iron. A vehicle
that employs carbon fiber can improve fuel consumption by 40%. Because parts
made of carbon fiber cost over 10 times more than those made of iron, carbon
fiber is currently used only in high-end vehicles. However, rapid progress of processing
technology reportedly will make it possible to supply carbon fiber for mass production
vehicles in the late 2010s. A project participated by leading companies and universities including
Toyota, Toray, and the University of Tokyo
will start to address the development of vehicles made entirely of carbon fiber
this July. The Japanese government has decided to support this project with a
nearly four billion yen grant this year, and will allocate several tens of
billion yen for the next 5-10 years.
Because replacing
iron with carbon fiber alone makes an autobody 30% lighter, the project will
design autobody and undercarriage suitable for carbon fiber to make an autobody
lighter by 60%. Iron and steel will be used for engine accessories and axle bearings
because they have higher degree of resistance against heat and abrasion than
carbon fiber. Toray Corporate Business Research reckons that the world carbon
fiber market was about 40,000 tons in 2011 of which 2,000 tons went to vehicles
and that demand for vehicles will start to grow around 2015 and reach several
tens of thousand tons in the 2020s.
The carbon fiber electric vehicle built by Toray
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