Mitsubishi Rayon to Double Carbon Fibre Production Capacity in U.S.

Mitsubishi Rayon has announced plans to expand production capacity of the carbon fibre plant at its Headquarters in Irvine, California.

The company plans to install new facilities capable of 2,000 tons of annual carbon fibre production at its existing site in Sacramento, California. The site expansion, scheduled to be completed by mid–2016, will double the annual production capacity of currently 2,000 tons up to 4,000 tons.

Worldwide demand for carbon fibre is increasing for industrial applications at an annual rate of more than 20%. Among industrial applications, carbon fibre reinforced pressure vessels are becoming widely used for CNG fuel tanks as well as large-scale CNG transporting vessels. In particular, large buses and trucks proceed with fuel conversion toward CNG; all due to the increased cost efficiency of using natural gas partly attributed to shale gas development and the tightening of automobile exhaust gas regulations.

MRC will utilise MRCFAC as production centre of high-performance regular tow carbon fibre to serve the growing demand in the North American market, while also expanding value chains related to industrial applications including pressure vessels, windmills, and automobiles.