Advantages of BLS Carbon Fiber Technology

A longtime San Francisco entrepreneur, Rick Holman guides the

innovation-focused auto materials venture firm Bright Lite
Structures (BLS). Holman, his partner, Antony Dodworth and their
team focus on creating carbon fiber composites that help auto
manufacturers meet mandates to reduce carbon emissions
through significantly increasing fuel efficiency and weight
reduction. The carbon fiber (CF) components Rick Holmans San
Francisco company has developed are 15-20 percent lighter than
traditional composite fiber which is 20% lighter than aluminum,
which, in turn, is 30 percent lighter than steel.
A key advantage of BLS patent-pending carbon fiber technology
over existing composites is that combined with a lower Bill of
Materials, the per-kilo material costs are competitive with existing
aluminum manufacturing costs. Parts can typically be produced
within a five- to eight-minute cycle time, which is six to 30 times
faster than the typical production time required for CF parts. In
addition, Bright Lite Structures manufacturing setup costs are
significantly lower than those associated with metal and other
carbon fibers. The end result is that BLS technology has the
potential to displace existing premium and specialty model auto
chassis types and quickly penetrate a $4 billion market. In late
2014, BLS went forward with commercial production of its
composites, which are integrated into the Zenos E10 sports car.