Carbon fibre ban proposed by EU

Admin

April 15, 2025
3 min read

Carbon fibre could soon be banned by the EU, having been declared as a “hazardous substance.” The material is commonly used in high-performance sports cars, being lighter and stiffer than traditional materials used to make cars.

The EU is drafting a new version of the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) directive. The goal is to ensure clean recycling of cars at the end of their life, while also avoiding harmful substances including mercury and lead, in the production of new cars.

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A new amendment to the directive would classify carbon fibre as “hazardous” similar to lead mercury and lead, along with cadmium and hexavalent chromium. It also aims to limit the quantity of certain substances allowed in specific components of vehicles. Many of these vehicles are currently allowed in car production as part of an exemption. That may be about to change as manufacturers are already beginning to reduce the amount of them in their cars.

Carbon fibre could be among the materials on the chopping block. This is because of particulates released when it is disposed of. Shredding it creates tiny conductive particles that can short-circuit machinery and be harmful to humans, being irritable or painful to skin.

“A ban on carbon fibre could be disastrous for the industry that makes it,” Auto Express writes. “The automotive sector accounts for roughly 10-20 per cent of carbon-fibre usage, with the majority being manufactured in Japan. Sports car makers could also be heavily impacted by this, which would come as yet another blow to the industry following the implementation of President Trump’s recent tariffs on imports to the US.”

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