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Demand continues to increase for ceramic matrix composites (CMC), which enable reduced weight and high performance at higher temperatures versus metals. This increases efficiency in engines, industrial processes and clean energy/recapture technologies, reducing fuel/power consumption and emissions. Robust CMC thermal protection systems (TPS) are enabling reusable launch vehicles, while CMC rocket nozzles, such as those being developed by Firefly Aerospace, can cut mass by 50%, increasing payload. Electric mobility also needs lightweight TPS in battery enclosures, and hypersonic platforms require materials for leading edges, radar-transparent radomes and other structures that can withstand thousands of degrees Celsius from air friction at Mach 5 and beyond.

In response, the past few years have seen a proliferation of new materials, processes, suppliers and parts production capacity. CW has reported regularly on these global developments, including elimination of process steps like coatings and infiltration, automation for high part volumes and new technologies for ultra-high temperature CMC (UHTCMC).

Increased supply of oxide fibers

New CMC fiber suppliers discussed in my 2023 feature on CMC have now started production. Launched in October 2024, Rath AG (Vienna, Austria) is producing Altra Flex continuous oxide ceramic fiber for extended service up to 1200°C. Initial capacity at its Mönchengladbach, Germany, site is 10 tons/year in three grades: M75 mullite, MK85 mullite-corundum and K99 corundum fiber.

Another new supplier is Vulcan Shield Global (VSG, Singapore), offering alumina fibers produced by Shanghai Rongrong New Material Technology (Shanghai, China), which shares the same owner. Rongrong 's new alumina fiber plant began production of continuous and staple fiber in 2023 with the potential to scale capacity to 400 and 600 metric tons, respectively. VSG as an independent entity has some manufacturing in Malaysia and is actively exploring establishing production in Europe.

Made using ISO-certified manufacturing and patented sol-gel technology and processes, the continuous fibers VSG is offering feature varying alumina content for long-term, high-temperature service including: B-70, F-72 (1200°C), C-85 (1300°C) and M-99 (1100°C). VSG also offers a wide array of alumina products from long and short fibers to papers, felts and needled nonwovens to textiles, braids and tapes.

“We want to help alleviate the historical lack of accessibility and affordability of these fibers globally,” says Sheng Kai Fong, marketing manager for VSG. “We will use our broad manufacturing capability, global applications team and advanced research and engineering to help customers develop tailored solutions for a wide range of applications, including products previously ignored by other suppliers.”

Silica fiber prepreg for faster, affordable CMC

Using decades of experience as one of the world’s largest producers of laminates and prepregs for aircraft interiors, Isovolta (Wiener Neudorf, Austria) has developed CERAPREG, combining silica fibers with a silica-alumina matrix to withstand up to 900°C but without the high cost of traditional CMC. It is selling prepreg, says Peter Wagner, vice president technology for Isovolta, “because it enables companies to make parts more quickly.” CERAPREG is designed to be nontoxic and easy to handle with no special equipment required except an oven, says Wagner. Parts are also being made with heated presses. “We train our customers to work with the material and make simple parts, but they don’t have to share details about what they will produce or how.”

As explained in “A different Ox-Ox prepreg,” the resulting oxide CMC (OCMC) material provides good structural performance, but the silica fiber’s >95% purity also results in dielectric properties similar to quartz, making CERAPREG attractive for radar-transparent covers and radomes. Wagner adds that although silica fiber can withstand a one-time exposure up to 1600°C, it will start to degrade above 950°C. Isovolta continues to test the materials in new applications, including hybrids with epoxy, cyanate ester and thermoplastic composites, EV battery trays, exhaust mixers, CMC tubes and sandwich structures made with Eco ceramic honeycomb from Euro-Composites (Echternach, Luxembourg). All have shown CERAPREG’s capability for good mechanical performance and complex shapes, says Wagner, while flame tests at 1200°C show no damage after 5 minutes.

Geopolymer prepregs, towpreg in the U.S.

Established in 2023, Pyromeral Technology (Sunnyvale, Calif., U.S.) draws from decades of materials development and use by Pyromeral (Barbery, France) to further advance high-temp composites in North America. Its PyroKarb, PyroSic and PyroXide prepregs process like carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) yet offer high performance to 1100°C and beyond. Proprietary geopolymer matrices enable easy layup for complex, near-net shapes with low-temperature autoclave or press cure using low-cost tooling and a single, freestanding post-cure. No subsequent densification or infiltration is required, enabling simpler manufacturing and reduced lead times and part cost versus conventional CMC.

PyroKarb uses high-modulus carbon fiber for service up to 540°C and PyroSic uses silicon carbide (SiC) fiber for service up to 815°C, offering 60% and 75% weight savings respectively versus titanium. PyroXide uses alumina fiber for service up to 1100°C with excursions to 1650°C and radio frequency transparency for nose cones and radar apertures. In exhaust nozzles, it saves up to 70% weight versus Inconel. 

Pyromeral Technology also produces PyroXide as a 0.25-inch-wide towpreg in thousand-meter spools with no splices, enabling filament winding for conical and tubular components. Towpreg versions of PyroKarb and PyroSic are being developed to follow shortly. Pyromeral materials are used in engine heat shielding, hypersonic fins and external skins and as battery protection in advanced air mobility.

Boosting sovereign CMC capability in the U.K.

(HTMS, Bristol) was founded in 2021 to address the U.K.’s lack of sovereign (i.e., domestic and self-sufficient) CMC capabilities and supply chain. “We make a CMC prepreg that processes like polymer prepreg, but can serve long-term up to 1000°C,” says co-founder Dr. Richard Grainger. “Our technology is based on a novel matrix chemistry that cures below 500-600°C versus 1000°C plus for traditional Ox-Ox. Our goal is to enable room temperature to 200°C cure so the prepreg can be used by the existing composite supply chain.”

“There are plenty of groups looking at materials for higher temperatures,” he continues, “but they’re not really buying their way into commercial products, even in aerospace, because the cost is prohibitive. Our approach allows use of more commodity fibers.” Current HTMS products include Ignishield (basalt fiber), ThermaLite (alumina fiber) and Carbonite X (carbon fiber). “These significantly reduce cost and we also avoid sintering, which has a huge effect, not only cutting energy use, emissions and process time but the equipment cost as well. Cure is currently 1-2 hours at 180-200°C with a freestanding post-cure in a furnace, but we hope to eliminate this last step in version 2.0 of our chemistry.”

HTMS is currently supplying materials to parts fabricators for battery boxes that withstand various heat and flame tests for 30-60 minutes. “We enable full protection, with no organic components to contribute to fire, smoke or the heat load,” explains Grainger. The company is working with five defense and automotive Tier 1 suppliers/OEMs and three partners in motorsports/high-performance cars. Applications include TPS and heat shields, exhaust components and brake ducts. “We’ve also got a number of projects with UK Innovate and the Royce Institute,” he adds. “We’ve just closed our seed round, which will let us move to larger premises, and then we’ll ramp prepreg production and further expand development programs.”

Automating OCMC for higher part volumes

(Cologne, Germany) is a spin-off project from the in Cologne, evolving the production of OCMC materials and components to enable broader and higher-volume applications. The team, led by DLR scientists Dr. Michael Welter and Dr. Vito Leisner, uses two processes developed at DLR since 2017 and proven in small series parts and DLR flight missions.

“Vacuum-assisted slurry infusion [VASI] is derived from the vacuum-assisted resin infusion [VARI] process used in CFRP,” explains Welter. “We typically use a one-sided mold in a vacuum bag and then infuse the slurry into a fiber preform using vacuum. For our infusion fabricated oxide CMC [IFOX] process, we use positive and negative mold halves that define the part shape and wall thickness. Similar to RTM, a fiber preform is placed into the mold system before applying vacuum and pressure for slurry infusion and drying. A dried green body can be ejected from the mold and sintered to form OCMC.”

FOX Composites has developed three slurry systems for different in-service temperatures and use with silica, alumina and mullite fibers. Most of its parts to date have used woven fabrics, but its processes allow use of almost any kind of fiber preform such as felts, short fibers or mixtures, says Leisner, “and we see even greater potential for 3D preforms tailored to the customer’s design.”

“We believe our IFOX technology will enable us to go way beyond the volumes that current CMC production technologies can deliver due to high automatability, short processing times and comparatively easy parallelization of processes,” says Welter. “We are currently setting up a pilot production line at DLR to increase the technology readiness level [TRL] and to demonstrate production capability of 10-20 parts per day. We are also looking at how we can further optimize the process, with the idea to eventually have parallel processing in multiple setups for continuous production, with the goal to produce several thousand parts/year and perhaps eventually up to 10,000 parts/year.”

Tested parts include a series of 10 radar-transparent antenna covers for a flight mission as well as nose cones for rockets and missiles. “We are able to achieve a very high surface quality with very low tolerances right out of the mold,” notes Leisner. A 1.8-meter-high, 90-centimeter-wide TPS for a rocket’s landing gear was produced for the ’s reusable demonstrator. These and other prototype products and customers are being transferred out of DLR to FOX Composites with planned commercial launch in 2026.

Cutting time, cost for C/C-SiC

(“ar-see-on,” Delft, Netherlands) produces Carbeon CMC with uncoated carbon fiber in a carbon-silicon carbide matrix (C/C-SiC) that withstands up to 2000°C in a non-oxidizing environment. It uses melt infiltration, says CEO Rahul Shirke, “because it requires a single densification cycle (1 week) and results in 1-3% porosity, compared to three to five densification cycles (2 months) for chemical vapor infiltration [CVI] and polymer infiltration and pyrolysis [PIP] processes, which typically produce 10% porosity. It also requires no exotic raw materials and no coatings on the fiber, reducing cost and increasing scalability.”

Arceon’s process uses three steps (see CW’s January 2025 article). Carbon fiber and a proprietary phenolic polymer are combined using filament winding, autoclave cure prepreg layup, RTM or hot pressing. This CFRP green body is then pyrolyzed to form a porous C/C preform followed by a single infiltration with molten silicon to form the CMC. “We have tested Carbeon for 2 hours at 1600°C,” says Shirke, “and observed only 1% mass loss, yet it’s two to four times lighter than metal alloys like Inconel.” The resulting C/C-SiC has low porosity, better for TPS because high porosity enables faster ablation as the heat can penetrate the material more quickly.

“Our strategy is not to patent the process but instead the design features of the Carbeon product,” says Shirke, showing a typical convergent-divergent nozzle. “We press form the two different cones using chopped fiber and simple molds, pyrolyze them and then join the two parts using a paste. We then infiltrate them together to produce a single part where you cannot see the joint. We use the same material in the parts to join them, thus, the joint is also stable at high temperatures.”

Arceon successfully tested a Carbeon leading edge for a hypersonic vehicle in 2024 and is working on other structures as part of the Hypersonic Technologies & Capability Development Framework (HTCDF) in the U.K. It aims to soon deploy a rocket motor nozzle which outperforms graphite at the same magnitude of cost, and has been selected to produce or support space structures for multiple European Space Agency (ESA) programs, including EMA, CASTT, and SHIELD. Arceon is also targeting battery enclosures, friction and wear components, parts for metals treatment and other industrial processes and also for optics and telescopes. Arceon announced a collaboration with Goodman Technologies to develop melt-infiltrated CMC for the U.S. market, has received investment from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. and is working with TU Delft to make more cost-efficient and easier-to-scale UHTCMC, expecting results in late 2025.

Infiltration-free C/C-SiC

Junhua Austin Wei, senior researcher at (Menlo Park, Calif., U.S.), is also targeting more cost-competitive CMC by eliminating silicon infiltration. Since 2019, he has produced a non-traditional C/C-SiC that comprises a C/C with >30vol% SiC nanoparticles. Instead of using phenolic resin with a typical pyrolysis char yield of 60%, Wei’s team uses a benzoxazine (Bz) — a functionalized dihydrobenzoxazine called PHB-APA — with a char yield of 75%. Because that alone did not produce a sufficiently dense C/C, the team looked to add ceramic nanoparticles. Wei says NASA tried this in 1990 but used a slurry process with a solvent that created issues. His team instead functionalizes the SiC particles for compatibility with the resin, enabling easy dispersion without over increasing viscosity. The resulting 40%wt Bz-SiC nanoparticles in PHB-APA is not the easiest to process, Wei concedes, but it does reduce shrinkage during pyrolysis to prevent large cracks and voids. “If you don’t have those, you no longer need infiltration to fill them.”

As explained in CW’s February 2025 article, Wei’s team cured CFRP samples in a mold at 120°C under vacuum, followed by a 2-hour post-cure at 240°C and pyrolysis at 900°C for 3 hours. The resulting C/C-SiC had ≈10% porosity and sufficient density to obviate infiltration. “This reduces the manufacturing time to 3-5 days,” says Wei.

SRI has calculated that for a production capacity of 1 ton/year, the manufacturing cost of such CMC plates is ~$300/kilogram compared to $500-600/kilogram for PIP parts. Another benefit is shape fidelity throughout processing due to less shrinkage. SRI continues to advance this approach and is working with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Energy Technology Office (SETO) to develop a corrosion-resistant solar receiver that can operate above 700°C. Although such decarbonization applications don’t require mechanical performance as high as aerospace, notes Wei, they are extremely cost sensitive. “We have no market if our cost is higher than current nickel alloys. We are targeting 80% of the performance of C/C and C/C-SiC materials at 50% of the cost.”

Advancing large C/C-SiC parts

ISiComp is a C/C-SiC patented by (CIRA, Capua, Italy) and its partner (Stezzano, Italy). Starting development in 2016, within 2 years they produced a 300 × 400-millimeter demonstrator with integrated stiffeners that survived 1200°C for >10 minutes in CIRA’s Scirocco plasma wind tunnel (PWT) without any damage. ESA contracted the team to design, produce and qualify the entire TPS for its Space Rider reusable vehicle comprising the nose, two body flaps, hinge TPS and windward assembly of 16 curved and five flat shingles. CIRA designs the CMC parts and manufactures the CFRP preforms, which are sent to Petroceramics for ceramicization into CMC parts and then sent back to CIRA for qualification.

ISiComp is made with a novel liquid silicon infiltration (LSI) process, which reduces manufacturing time and cost versus previous processes. The resulting robust C/C-SiC features load-bearing C/C domains in a SiC matrix. An external SiC coating applied by Petroceramics in a process patented with CIRA further enhances its reusability. As explained in CW’s May 2025 article, ISiComp has passed PWT testing to simulate six reentries, with just 0.3% mass loss, no fiber oxidation and strength similar to virgin samples.

“We grow a SiC layer on the top of the components,” explains Dr. Mario De Stefano Fumo, technology manager for the CMC Space Rider TPS. “This process enables a dentritic structure with the CMC underneath that enhances the joining and the oxidation resistance of the components.” He admits this adds a step but reduces overall manufacturing time and cost versus standard chemical vapor deposition (CVD) coatings. It can also be reapplied between missions, key for vehicle reusability.

The team also uses in situ joining during LSI. Although this kind of joining is well known, says De Stefano Fumo, it was key for the complex body flap. While the various stiffeners were cobonded during CFRP manufacturing, the triangular part (or “shoe”) where the actuation rod attaches, was made as a separate CFRP part and in situ joined during infiltration at Petroceramics.

The 700 × 900 × 300-millimeter body flap CMC weighs only 11 kilograms (doubling with metal fasteners and components added) and has recently passed dynamic structural qualification along with the 1,320 × 941 × 414-millimeter nose. This double-curved and non-axisymmetric part with varying thickness and 16 omega-shaped CMC attachment points cobonded during CFRP fabrication weighs just 40 kilograms (the CMC weighs 10 kilograms) and withstands 1650°C. CIRA is now completing qualification testing for the remaining TPS components and preparing to start production of flight hardware for Space Rider’s first mission in 2027.

UHTCMC: Enabling service beyond 2000°C

(“care-x,” Faenza), a spin-off from Italy’s National Research Council – Institute of Science Technology and Sustainability for Ceramics (), was founded in 2021 based on years of work in UHT ceramics and in UHTCMC via the project including exclusive use of CNR patents awarded to co-founders Diletta Sciti and Luca Zoli, who have more than 200 publications on fabrication, testing, certification and optimized production of UHTCMC prototypes. K3RX UHTCMC enables service at >2000°C with increased durability versus CMC, ceramics and metals.

As explained in CW’s May 2025 article, K3RX uses two processes. The first uses a preceramic slurry to impregnate a preform which is sintered into UHTCMC and machined to final dimensions. This can be fast, with a single densification cycle lasting a few hours to a day depending on part size; it can be accelerated by using spark plasma sintering. The second process is PIP where reinforcement is impregnated with a preceramic polymer, molded using filament winding or a heated press to create a near-net shape and then pyrolyzed into UHTCMC, followed by multiple infiltration/pyrolysis cycles depending on each part’s specifications.

K3RX is exploring the use of SiC and other fibers but prefers carbon fiber because its cost is one-tenth that of SiC fiber. It can use a wide range of matrix formulations, with a baseline of zirconium diboride (ZrB₂) and SiC. Higher melting point UHTC, like hafnium diboride (HfB₂), can provide even higher temperature and oxidation resistance, says Sciti, but cost 10 times more and increase weight. “This is why we developed our technology to tailor the properties as needed.”

K3RX UHTCMC has been tested at 2200°C for up to 30 minutes, and up to 2500°C for up to 5 minutes with near-zero ablation. The material is dense, with low porosity, providing thermal shock, wear and oxidation resistance with dimensional stability plus capability to self-heal cracks from thermomechanical stress. Parts up to 1 centimeter thick and 40 centimeters in diameter have reached TRL 5-6, passing repeated arcjet and PWT tests, including leading edges, flaps and nozzles for flight missions as well as nose cones, TPS tiles and spacers, the latter integrated into tested assemblies using screws and nuts of the same UHTCMC. K3RX is working to commercialize its products with customers in space, defense, energy and braking applications and is closing its first round of investment with large European companies in these markets.

K3RX is also evaluating its cost versus C/C and CMC materials. “With sufficient scale, our cost could be reduced by 75%,” says CEO and co-founder, Giorgio Montanari. Graphite used in furnace applications is made using PIP with at least 10 cycles, explains Zoli, yet the cost may be only €40/kilogram thanks to industrial-scale production from some companies.” Meanwhile, the size and TRL of the UHTCMC parts that K3RX is producing have not been matched in published information. “And we continue to develop and advance our technology,” says Montanari.

UHTCMC via converted carbon fiber

Founded in 2012, (ACF, Idaho Falls, Idaho, U.S.) has also patented processes and materials for producing UHTCMC. Its Direct Conversion Process (DCP), explains Ken Koller, CEO of ACF, “forms 30-500 nanometers of SiC or other metallic carbide [MC] on each individual filament in a carbon fiber tow.” The continuous process takes seconds, producing FiBar, a product with integrated thermal protection enabling carbon fiber to withstand temperatures up to 3940°C in a vacuum that otherwise, he says, would evaporate in seconds, “but we can suppress that vaporization for tens of minutes.” ACF can convert anything that’s carbon — chopped fiber, braid, tape, pitch carbon fiber, carbon nanotubes and graphene.

Depending on the application, ACF can use 34 of the MC elements in the periodic table such as tantalum (Ta), hafnium (Hf) and zirconium (Zr). The integrated SiC or MC also acts as the interfacial debond layer that enables fiber pullout to reduce crack growth for CMC toughness and helps non-oxide fibers resist oxidation. Thus, traditional CVD/CVI coatings are supplanted, reducing subsequent UHTCMC manufacturing time and cost.

As explained in CW’s June 2025 article, ACF uses PIP to fabricate UHTCMC with a solids level of 60-70% via the SiC/C filaments, says Koller, so that subsequent cycles can be reduced as low as two or three, depending on the part. Up to 70% carbon fiber volume can also be achieved for higher load-carrying and thermal shock capacity, and the UHTCMC is self-repairing.

ACF has fabricated UHTCMC with strain-to-failure as high as 8%, notes Koller, proven in testing by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). It has also made turbine engine vanes with different types of UHTCMC that were tested by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) up to 1371°C with no significant damage. ACF also produced UHTCMC fasteners using five PIP cycles that withstood 600 pounds of load in testing at 2000°C plus projectile testing. With Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, it produced UHTCMC that survived plasma torch testing up to 2900°C. The company is installing DCP systems that can produce larger daily quantities of FiBar products specific to individual client applications and is demonstrating its ability to tailor dielectric and electromagnetic properties for aerospace, defense, energy and electronics applications.

Phthalonitrile for C/C components

Founded in 2019, (El Segundo, Calif., U.S.) has developed ApexShield 1000, a phthalonitrile (PN) resin that it claims reduces PIP for C/C from six to nine cycles down to one to two, slashing production time by up to 80%. It claims this also reduces costs by enabling high output from existing manufacturing infrastructure (see Americarb below). Cambium’s PN, reportedly designed for infusion and RTM, is also used in prepreg and film adhesives, features low-melt viscosity, room temperature storage and a glass transition temperature (T_g) above 400°C. The company reports production at metric-ton scale and integration into U.S. supply chains to strengthen domestic CMC capabilities.

Cambium uses an AI-driven platform to speed development of materials that enable fabricators of hypersonic structures to reduce cycle times from months to weeks. To advance this technology, the company has worked closely with industry partners, the Biomanufacturing and Design Ecosystem (BioMADE) and especially the U.S. Navy, including a recent contract from ONR. Cambium says its PN-based high-temperature composite materials address key adoption issues in processing and production that were thought to be insurmountable, including developing C/C parts that can survive and perform at hypersonic speeds up to Mach 20.

Another company expanding PN options is (Raleigh, N.C.), the U.S. subsidiary of an Indian conglomerate including (Ahmedabad) and (Hyderabad). It supplies bismaleimide (BMI), cyanate ester, hot-melt phenolic prepregs. The latter is solvent-free, eliminating traditional porosity, and processes more like epoxy prepregs. The company also supplies PN resins, prepreg and film adhesive, as well as PN and carbon foams, 3D woven and 2D stitched preforms and a variety of CMC process capabilities, including PIP, LSI and CVI. Its patented film boiling CVI process achieves densification at 1.5 millimeters/hour, a 100-fold increase that reduces cycle time for manufacturing high-quality C/C by a factor of 10, says Jairam Chintalapati, business development manager for Azista USA.

Azista’s PN has a 75-centipoise viscosity at its 180-200°C cure temperature, a T_g of 435°C and char yield of 72%, reducing PIP cycles from five to three, says Chintalapati, “and the microstructure of the resulting C/C is very close to that obtained using CVI.” The (NLR) has worked with Azista’s room tempature PN, grinding it to a powder and applying to carbon fiber to form dry semipreg used to make autoclave-cured 24-ply laminates with good quality. Azista USA has demonstrated C/C and SiC CMC parts using its PN and hot-melt phenolic materials, and although these are currently manufactured in India, it is exploring domestic capabilities as it works to expand partners and applications in the U.S. (See “Expanding HT composites in India and the U.S.”)

Further developments, increased capacity

Azista has also developed a polycarbosilane polymer used as a precursor for SiC matrix. It has four variants, including one with high molecular weight for making SiC fibers and is seeking partners to help evaluate these. Polycarbosilane has been available in the U.S. for decades from Starfire Systems (Glenville, N.Y.). Chantalapati notes Azista’s advantage is it can tailor the polymer chemistry according to the needs and end goals of the user.

SiC composites are also being advanced in Germany, including by DLR (see “C/C-SiC in rocket nozzles, piston rings and optical benches”) in engine turbine vanes as well as CMC machining, and by (Gersthofen) founded in 2014 and 2015. BJS Ceramics makes, among others, Silafil F, a second-generation SiC fiber with broadly adjustable electrical properties for electromagnetic applications. BJS Composites uses Silafil and carbon fiber to create Keraman CMC materials and highly complex 3D parts offering an all-EU value chain that is not subject to U.S. export control regulations. “We are seeing increased demand across the aerospace and defense sectors, but also from the energy industry,” notes BJS partner and co-founder Jutta Schull. “This includes nuclear, where cooling pumps cannot fail and also water pumps in harsh conditions. CMC provides the ultimate durability, ensuring safety and continued operation for vital infrastructure.”

Meanwhile, CMC thermal processing capacity is being increased by (Niagara Falls, N.Y., U.S.). Founded in 2002, it specializes in C/C and specialty graphite grades for service up to 2500°C, supplying plates, tubes, furnace fixtures/racks and custom parts. It is vertically integrated, with a carbon fiber prepreg line, autoclave, machining and assembly capability as well as a 30 × 40 × 40-foot 900°C carbonization furnace and 18 induction furnaces up to 3000°C which enable large parts up to 2.4 × 3.4 meters. Americarb is supporting applications in defense, space, nuclear energy, batteries, fuel cells and hydrogen electrolysis, and developing OCMC and SiC capabilities.

And there are more ongoing developments. “CMC is the next material revolution,” says Dr. David E. Glass, senior technologist and leader for the Applied Materials for Space and Hypersonics (AMSH) team at NASA Langley, which uses PWT and other test infrastructure plus multiscale modeling and subject experts to support successful design, manufacturing and flight. “CMC have the potential for disruptive change across space, defense, mobility and energy with significant returns for companies and countries that can successfully implement them. But the challenges are also significant. Collaboration and cooperation between researchers, manufacturers and end users is key to enable the advances needed for their rapid, increased adoption.”

Be sure to register for CW’s Oct. 16, 2025 online event to learn more: CW Tech Days: High-Temperature Composite Solutions for Defense and Space Applications.