Europe wants to ban carbon fibre

One of the greatest breakthroughs in motoring – carbon fibre – is facing the chopping block in Europe after a plan to reclassify it as a ‘hazardous material’ threatens its future use in road cars.

The material has delivered huge safety and performance gains thanks to its combination of supreme strength and light weight – attractive for motor sport, high performance cars and weight saving electric vehicles.

Yet an amendment by the European Parliament’s End of Life Vehicles (ELV) directive – which looks at recycling old cars – is set to classify carbon fibre as hazardous alongside cadmium, lead, mercury and hexavalent chromium.

The European Union says carbon fibre filaments may become airborne and be harmful when contacted by human skin.

That would mean the end of its use – although some substances are still used in car making, albeit sparingly – from new vehicles and components makers as soon as 2029.

According to Motor1, it’s the first government entity to deem carbon fibre a hazardous material.

The outlet also says the majority of carbon fibre is now manufactured in Asia, with three companies accounting for 54 per cent of the world’s total supply in an industry worth $US5.5 billion annually.

Australian company Carbon Revolution – based in Geelong, Victoria – supplies carbon fibre wheels as original equipment to the likes of General Motors, Ford, Renault, Ferrari and Jaguar Land Rover.

Its carbon fibre wheels – which save as much as 15kg per unit – can be seen as factory fitments on the current C8 Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang Dark Horse, and the Ferrari SF-90 XX Stradale.

It produces the world’s largest carbon fibre wheel, the 23-inch standard fit examples on the Range Rover Sport SVR.

CarSauce has contacted Carbon Revolution for comment – given the threat of both US tariffs and potential EU carbon fibre ban – but is yet to hear from the company.

A little over 12 months ago, Carbon Revolution posted record-breaking results – having made $US14.8 million ($AU23.45 million) in revenue, a year-on-year increase of 177 per cent.

Its 2024 results are due to be filed by 14 May 2025, with a total $US40.3 ($AU63.43 million) in revenue reported in 2023, the company listing on the Nasdaq in the US in November 2023.

In late 2023, the company announced plans for a North American production facility located in the US or potentially Mexico.

While a plant has not yet been opened, the latest US automotive tariffs – introduced in April 2025 – include ‘key’ vehicle parts made in Mexico, thwarting efforts to expand production there.

The EU’s potential carbon fibre ban again throws another hurdle at car maker’s efforts to introduce electric vehicles (EVs) using the weight saving material, including autonomous robotaxis.

The 2013 BMW i3 electric city car is a prime example, having used a carbon fibre chassis to save weight and add driving range – all while meeting crash test standards.

The material is now commonplace in high performance cars, from vanity items such as mirror caps, roof panels, components including driveshafts and brakes, as well as full carbon fibre bodies and chassis.

Carbon fibre dates back to the late 1800s and became more widespread in aircraft manufacture in the 1970s.

In 1981 the McLaren MP4/1 Formula One car – designed by legendary Brit John Barnard – became the first to use a chassis made entirely of carbon fibre.

Now common practice, the carbon fibre MP4/1 was a milestone for the material to make its way into exotic road cars – and now relatively common in performance models.

The 1990- Jaguar XKR-15 was the first road car with a carbon-fibre chassis, but it was perhaps more famously used in Gordon Murray’s iconic 1993 McLaren F1 supercar.

Chinese car makers have also used carbon fibre in high-performance EVs such as the 2024 Zeekr 001 FR and the quad-motor Nio EP9.