LeMond Composites announced today it will begin manufacturing a new type of carbon fiber for the transportation, renewable energy and infrastructure markets in Oak Ridge.
LeMond Composites will invest $125 million to expand its Oak Ridge campus by building its first carbon fiber production line at its facility adjacent to Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility. The new facility will add 242 new jobs in Roane County.
“We can provide the advantages of our carbon fiber to many industries by improving strength, stiffness and weight reduction,” LeMond’s CEO Connie Jackson said in a statement. “If you imagine replacing steel, aluminum and fiberglass with our carbon fiber, you can begin to understand the scope of the potential market. Our process will have global applications and we are ready to move forward with scaling the technology.”
The breakthrough process invented by Jackson and a research team at ORNL’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility (CFTF) will significantly reduce production costs relative to the lowest cost of industrial grade carbon fiber. This new carbon fiber has the mechanical properties of carbon fiber, but costs significantly less. Until now, manufacturing carbon fiber was an extremely energy-intensive process. This new method greatly reduces energy consumed during production.
LeMond Composites has secured a licensing agreement with U.S. Department of Energy’s ORNL. The agreement will make LeMond Composites the first company to offer this new industry-disrupting carbon fiber.