Cheap Renewable Power Key to BMW’s Electric Megacity
Lightweight, high-strength carbon fiber has long been seen as the secret—but an expensive one—for more efficient cars; BMW details a strategy for slashing the cost.
Carbon fiber has long been seen as a potentially powerful weapon in automakers' arsenal for designing more efficient vehicles. But the lightweight, super-strong material does not come cheap—at least, not yet. BMW plans to use carbon fiber for its upcoming Megacity electric vehicle, and at the Los Angeles Auto Show the company detailed its strategy for slashing production costs for the material.
Richard Steinberg, BMW's manager of electric vehicle operations and strategy for North America, said on Wednesday that the automaker plans to use hydropower for the energy-intensive manufacturing of carbon fiber.
With plans initially to invest $100 million, a joint venture between BMW and Germany’s SGL Group began building a new plant this summer in Washington—a state that has
