AUTOCOMPOSITES COMMERCIALIZATION LAUNCHPAD

The document proposes a 'parts approach' to overcome barriers to the adoption of automotive carbon fiber composites. Rather than attempting whole-vehicle integration, it suggests targeting specific parts (such as rear hatches or door inners) for mainstream volumes of 50,000 to 100,000 units per year by model year 2018. This strategy aims to create a viable business case, drive scale, and identify technology and funding gaps through a collaborative supply chain team including OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and material producers.

• The 'parts approach' focuses on near-term commercialization by targeting specific carbon fiber applications with high weight savings and tangible value for mainstream adoption, with initial volumes of 50,000 to 100,000 units for model year 2018.
• Initial analysis indicates that carefully selected carbon fiber composite parts can provide value that is equal to or greater than the steel parts they replace.
• Successful commercialization requires a lean, cooperative team of 6–8 experts covering the entire supply chain, including fiber and resin producers, tooling makers, Tier 1 manufacturers, and OEMs, with leadership ideally coming from an OEM or Tier 1 level.
• A post-workshop survey showed strong stakeholder interest in commercialization, with 18 out of 21 respondents stating they are "very interested" in a carbon fiber composite part effort.
• The document identifies several candidate parts and segments for this approach: candidate parts include rear hatch inners, door inners with intrusion beams (especially for vans), engine cradles, and seat structures; target segments include EVs, fleets, and performance vehicles.
• Significant financial investments in design, tooling, and testing are required for commercialization; in traditional models, these costs typically fall on the OEM and large Tier 1 suppliers.

APA

RMI (2013). AUTOCOMPOSITES COMMERCIALIZATION LAUNCHPAD. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_ACLKickoffPreRead_2014-04.pdf

Chicago

RMI. AUTOCOMPOSITES COMMERCIALIZATION LAUNCHPAD. 2013. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_ACLKickoffPreRead_2014-04.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=AUTOCOMPOSITES COMMERCIALIZATION LAUNCHPAD |date=January 2013 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_ACLKickoffPreRead_2014-04.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2013autocomposites, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{AUTOCOMPOSITES COMMERCIALIZATION LAUNCHPAD}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2013}, month = jan, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_ACLKickoffPreRead_2014-04.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }