Carbon fiber and carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) have excellent specific strength and modulus and are promising materials for extra lightweight structure. CFRP has been introduced into aircraft structure and achieved weight reduction and improvement of safety. In order to apply CFRP to mass-produced and large-scale products, such as automotive, wind turbine and more general industrial products, productivity, cost and environmental impact of carbon fiber and composites need to be improved.To achieve these improvements, there should be variety of paths of research and development. Many Japanese research institutions are facing the challenge of the technical innovations. Two METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) projects and one NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) project are chosen among the Japanese research activities and reviewed in the present paper.
展开▼
