A chemical treatment process developed by researchers at Japan's Kyoto University could one day allow automakers to replace steel with material made from wood.
Reuters this week detailed Kyoto's partnership with two Japanese auto parts makers on a potentially revolutionary method to make cellulose nanofibers.
Cellulose nanofibers — which are less than one one-thousandth of a millimeter in size — are produced from conventional wood fibers for use in inks and transparent displays, but Kyoto researchers chemically treated wood fibers in order to break them down and incorporate the tiny fragments into plastic.
The process results in a material that is five times stronger and five times lighter than steel — as well as five times cheaper than conventional nanofiber production.
The high-strength yet lightweight material could be critical for the automotive and aerospace industries, which are under increasing pressure to bolster fuel efficiency. Analysts estimate that the cost of nanofiber production will be cut in half — and become competitive with steel -- by 2030.
"We've been using plastics as a replacement for steel, and we're hoping that cellulose nanofibers will widen the possibilities toward that goal," Yukihiko Ishino of auto parts maker DaikyoNishikawa — one of Kyoto's partner companies — told Reuters.
Kyoto researchers hope to develop a prototype car made with the material by 2020.