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Myriam Yagoubi discusses carbon fiber supply and demand at Carbon Fiber 2025. Source (All Images) | CW

ÂÌñÏ×ÆÞ hosted Carbon Fiber 2025 in early November in Wichita, Kansas, bringing together industry leaders, innovators and experts to discuss critical trends in the global carbon fiber market, supply and demand dynamics, market forecasts, and material and processing advancements.

The event opened with a compelling keynote on global carbon fiber supply and demand by Myriam Yagoubi, manager at Future Materials Group (FMG). Yagoubi highlighted the remarkable growth of the carbon fiber market over the past two decades, which has spurred new entrants and increased average production capacity from 4 to 10 kilotons per player. As of 2024, Toray remains the market leader, though Chinese suppliers now account for nearly 50% of global reported capacity, signaling a significant shift in the industry landscape. This overview set the tone for in-depth discussions on key markets, particularly aerospace and wind energy, which continue to dominate carbon fiber demand.

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Collin Heller, vice president, Counterpoint Market Intelligence.

Carbon Fiber 2025 also underscored Wichita’s significance as a hub for aerospace and composites innovation with several presentations focusing on high-rate composites manufacturing solutions targeting aerospace and advanced air mobility (AAM) applications. Collin Heller of provided a sobering outlook on the Tier 1 aerostructures sector, which is still grappling with post-pandemic recovery and production challenges. While next-generation single-aisle (NGSA) aircraft programs from Boeing and Airbus hold immense potential for composite manufacturers, Heller noted that significant announcements are unlikely before 2029. Boeing continues to face hurdles from the 737 Max crisis and COVID-related disruptions, while Airbus continues to find itself in a comfortable competitive position. Heller noted that Airbus’ leadership position has given the company time to explore innovative open rotor engine designs, which could factor heavily into its NGSA program plans. All told, in-service dates for these programs will likely be pushed to the late 2030s or early 2040s.

Further, Heller expressed concerns that the outsourcing of aerostructure manufacturing has peaked. Faced with persistently lower profit margins, Tier suppliers are likely to be subject to consolidation in the next few years, said Heller. It is also likely that OEMs will move an increasing amount of aerostructures work in-house. Existing players are likely to focus on specialization, vertical integration, automation and lower costs.

Meanwhile, AAM initiatives — including consumer UAVs and eVTOLs — represent an area of R&D within aerospace that many in the industry hope could pave the way for new process innovations for aerostructures. A lively panel discussion moderated by NIAR ATLAS’ Waruna Seneviratne delved into AAM’s progress and its broader implications for aerospace. The ultimate conclusion of the panelists signaled that AAM is not expected to significantly impact the industry before at least 2030.

Renewable energy consultant Shashi Barla delivers wind energy keynote at Carbon Fiber 2025.

Wind energy, despite a dip in U.S. demand caused by the Trump administration’s policy shifts favoring fossil fuels, remains robust globally. Yagoubi noted that while global wind installation demand was flat between 2023 and 2024, long-term forecasts predict strong growth driven by government renewable energy targets and wind’s competitive levelized cost of energy. This outlook was reinforced by presentations from wind energy consultant Shashi Barla and Julien Sellier of STRUCTeam. Barla projected that wind industry demand will more than double from 115 gigawatts (GW) in 2024 to 250-260 GW by 2035, with carbon fiber adoption in wind blades rising from under 40,000 tons in 2023-2024 to over 150,000 tons annually within a decade, driven largely by the expansion of offshore wind. Notably, global offshore wind is expected to grow fivefold in the same period.

The presenters painted a picture of global disparity in wind energy development, with China leading the charge. “The dominance of China in wind cannot be downplayed,” Barla emphasized, a sentiment echoed by Sellier, who added that the Chinese wind market is pushing the boundary. While Western markets have historically led in turbine ratings and rotor sizes, China is rapidly adopting carbon fiber spar caps in blades for offshore applications and is poised to do the same onshore. Chinese OEMs are targeting wind turbine generator heights of 200-240 meters, surpassing the 170-175 meters typical of Western OEMs. Similarly, China accounted for 60% of the 2024-2025 wind installation orders, compared to just 4% for the U.S., underscoring the widening gap.

Mike Favaloro offers an update on carbon fiber use in the global hydrogen industry. 

The conference also addressed the role of carbon fiber in emerging clean energy solutions, with ’s Mike Favaloro presenting insights on the global hydrogen (H₂) industry. Favaloro was a co-author with CW’s Jeff Sloan, Ginger Gardiner and contributor Karen Mason on a report that evaluates carbon fiber use in hydrogen storage. Favaloro described a clean H₂ sector expanding rapidly in the EU and China but lagging in the U.S. He highlighted its potential to reduce CO₂ emissions by 80 gigatons by 2050, yet warned that the U.S. risks falling behind if current policies persist.

Deepak Agrawal, head of research and consulting, Stratview Market Research.

The conference also explored emerging markets like India. Deepak Agrawal of shared that the country represents 5.6% of total carbon fiber demand in 2025. Having grown 1.5 times in the past 6 years, India’s market is projected to expand at 2.2 times the global average by 2030, positioning it as a key player in the composites sector. Reliance Industries, for example, is building a 4,000-kiloton carbon fiber plant in the country. India is also expected to double wind energy installations in the next three years. In addition, compressed natural gas demand has grown in India eight-fold in the past 4 years. In all, wind energy and pressure vessels represent 72% of the total net increase of carbon fiber demand over the next 5 years.

The dominance of wind and the importance of emerging opportunities in H₂ energy should not be understated. There is a growing demand for electricity globally, driven increasingly by data centers, connectivity and the use of AI, and wind energy has proven to be reliable and inexpensive, which the rest of the world recognizes. In this market, however, the U.S. is falling behind, driven by anti-renewables policies.

Carbon Fiber 2025 brought the challenges facing the carbon fiber industry to the forefront, reinforcing its critical role in shaping a sustainable, high-performance future, while highlighting the urgent need for global collaboration and innovation to keep pace with rapidly evolving demands.