Carbon Fiber Conference 2026 highlights supply security, resilience and a changing aerospace and defense market

The Carbon Fiber Conference 2026 brought leaders from across the composites industry to Huntsville, Alabama this week for discussions about the evolving carbon fiber market, including growing aerospace and defense demand, emerging applications, and the increasing importance of a secure and resilient U.S. supply chain. Hexcel sponsored the event.

Growing Demand

Organized by CompositesWorld, the conference brings together carbon fiber manufacturers, suppliers, fabricators, analysts and end users to examine market trends, technologies and applications shaping the industry.

"The biggest story right now in carbon fiber revolves around the defense landscape, aerospace landscape, what we're using those materials for, and the new growing demand in those spaces," said Scott Francis, editor-in-chief of CompositesWorld. "I think really trying to understand what that growing demand means for the supply chain, for carbon fiber, is one of the things that we come here together at Carbon Fiber to talk about."

Francis said the conference also provides an important opportunity for manufacturers, customers, analysts and other industry participants to compare perspectives on market conditions and emerging technologies.

Those changing market requirements were also a focus for Collin Heller, executive vice president of Counterpoint Market Intelligence. Heller described a defense market that is increasingly divided between traditional, highly-engineered systems and a new generation of programs focused on speed, scalability, affordability and rapid production.

"There are two markets, they're both very important, but you maybe think about how you serve them in a different way," said Heller.

Supply Security

For carbon fiber producers and the broader composites industry, that shift places a premium not only on material performance, but also on availability and the ability of suppliers to scale production as demand changes. Heller said manufacturers increasingly must consider whether a supply chain capable of supporting current production rates could respond to an unexpected surge in demand.

Supply security was another recurring theme at the conference. Conference discussions highlighted potential supply-chain risks associated with reliance on foreign-owned or controlled carbon fiber production, particularly when raw materials, precursor production, intellectual property or critical manufacturing technologies are outside U.S. control.

Stephen Middleton, director of product management for fibers and reinforcements at Hexcel, addressed that issue in his conference presentation, arguing that the industry's definition of carbon fiber performance is expanding beyond traditional technical properties.

"Supply security is becoming another performance characteristic of carbon fiber," said Middleton. "You can develop the highest performing fiber in the world, but if the customer cannot get it, cannot qualify, cannot trace its origin, or cannot confidently build a 20- or 30-year program around it, technical performance becomes irrelevant."

Middleton said domestic supply security extends beyond where the carbon fiber itself is manufactured. It also includes the origin of precursor and raw materials, ownership of intellectual property and control of the technologies required to maintain production.

That distinction is increasingly important as manufacturers weigh near-term cost and availability against longer-term considerations such as supply continuity, traceability and control. For long-lived aerospace and defense programs, changing a qualified material source can be costly and time-consuming.

Hexcel's U.S. carbon fiber supply chain includes precursor production in Decatur, Ala., carbon fiber manufacturing in Salt Lake City and additional carbon fiber manufacturing capacity being established in Decatur.

"If I'm really looking at this from a risk perspective, I really got to go all the way back to where my raw materials are sourced," said Heller, in comments to Hexcel. "I think that's where Hexcel has an advantage, particularly in the U.S., is their level of vertical integration."

Emerging Applications

Beyond aerospace and defense, conference discussions pointed to opportunities for carbon fiber in space, energy, and other emerging applications. Francis said the industry's relatively small community supports a material with an ever more important role across many sectors.

"When we're looking at this industry, it's a small group of people when it really comes down to it, who are involved in a material that is playing a huge role in a number of sectors, from defense and aerospace to [advanced air] mobility, clean energy, and even supporting data center infrastructure," said Francis. "Having all the people together in one place, continuing to foster that community, I think is what's really important about this conference."