Boeing set to give high-performance composites a head for heights

The US commercial airliner and wind energy sectors are expected to be key growth areas for high-performance composite materials in the coming years, according to a new report.

Research group Freedonia has predicted that in the US, demand for high-performance composites will rise more than 15% a year between now and 2016 and break the $10bn (£6.4bn) barrier in four year’s time.

The researchers believe the increased production schedule for Boeing’s new 787 'Dreamliner' will drive the bulk of the growth in demand, with what it calls “the burgeoning wind energy market” being another strong growth area.

Much slower growth is expected in defence and safety applications, as well as what Freedonia calls the “highly mature” sporting goods market.

The automotive sector will see “only moderate gains in demand, as widescale, large-volume use of automotive composites will continue to restrained by high cost and slow production speeds”.

Carbon fibre composites will take the lion’s share among product types, with 83% of the high-performance market by 2016, according to Freedonia.

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