European regulators might drop the ban hammer on carbon fiber due to health and environmental concerns. Lawmakers are floating the idea of adding it to the list of banned hazardous materials, which would send a ripple effect across an industry that’s already struggling to make more efficient cars.
The European Parliament submitted an amended version of the End of Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive in April 2025, according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei, and it’s this document that has carbon fiber in its crosshairs. The rationale is that the little strands of carbon fiber that often break off when a piece of the material is recycled (when a car is scrapped, for example) are hazardous to people and the environment.
Interestingly, the law states that exemptions can be made “when there are no adequate alternatives” to the material considered hazardous. Adding carbon fiber to the list of banned materials seemingly implies that an adequate alternative exists, though the EU hasn’t identified it. Some other materials the EU deems as hazardous but provides exemptions for automotive use include lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium.
This would be the first time that a major government qualified carbon fiber as dangerous, and the material isn’t exactly new. Once reserved for high-end race cars, it has inched toward the mainstream over the past couple of years as automakers look for ways to design lighter vehicles. Electrification has accelerated this trend. EVs are much heavier than comparable gasoline-powered vehicles, and because weight is the enemy of range, manufacturers use carbon fiber to keep it in check. The BMW iX features an assortment of carbon fiber panels called a Carbon Cage, for example.
At the time of this writing, the proposed ban (which hasn’t been approved yet) would only apply to cars. There’s no word on whether it could sooner or later be extended to apply to the carbon fiber used outside of the automotive industry. Carbon fiber is also found in planes, including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and in wind turbines. Bicycle, sailboat masts, and fishing rod manufacturers also rely on carbon fiber to keep weight low.
Members of the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the European Council will debate whether to ban carbon fiber in the coming weeks, and Nikkei learned that the ban likely won’t come into effect until 2029 if it’s approved. The publication expects that the EU’s attempt to blacklist carbon fiber will face strong opposition from the companies who manufacture carbon fiber and the brands who use it, including a wide range of carmakers. It might end up classified as hazardous but exempt from a ban, or the whole idea could get dropped.
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