4M Carbon Fiber raising $4.5 million to develop a 50-ton oxidized pan fiber line
After more than a decade, the company still laser focused on driving down the cost of carbon fiber so that it can be used in everyday products.
It was nearly a decade ago that we first wrote about a company that today is known as 4M Carbon Fiber Corporation.
In this teknovation.biz article that was based on an interview with Truman Bonds, 4M’s Chief Technology Officer who was Vice President for R&D at the time, the company that is now known as 4M Carbon Fiber is still laser focused on driving down the cost of carbon fiber so that it can be used in everyday products, and plans to sell licensed equipment to multiple carbon fiber manufacturers and oxidized pan fiber (OPF) producers.
The plasma oxidation technology was jointly developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and RMX Technologies LLC, with Bonds being one of the inventors.
“COVID set us back,” says Rodney Grubb, a longtime member of the board of directors and company Co-Founder. We sat down recently with Grubb and Doug Mentzer, 4M’s President and Chief Executive Officer, for an update on the path forward for the company that uses plasma oxidation technology to produce ovens that make carbon fiber and OPF.
“Our strategy today is to sell licensed equipment,” Grubb says, explaining that the company has demonstrated that with its technology, it can make an industrial grade carbon fiber from textile grade precursor fiber like that in carpets and also large diameter fiber for a variety of industries ranging from automotive to marine, wind, heavy transportation, and infrastructure.
4M Carbon Fiber has five U.S. issued patents and nine international patents,
The 4M technology is proven on a 3-ton per year OPF pilot line using existing industrial precursors and textile precursors to triple the throughput with 75 percent less unit energy consumption, leading up to 50 percent CAPEX (capital expenditures) savings and 30 percent in OPEX (operating expense) savings, depending on how the technology is implemented.
A two-stage commercialization plan is currently being pursued. The first stage: “We are raising $4.5 million to develop a 50-ton OPF line,” Grubb says. This will allow 4M Carbon Fiber to prove its technology at a minimum viable commercial scale. The realization of a 50-ton per year line is pivotal – it’s the launchpad for 4M’s collaboration with strategic partners and the carbon fiber industry. Upon completion of the line, the second stage is testing, demonstration, and the production of samples for potential customers. From this effort, carbon fiber production lines will be designed that incorporate 4M’s technology via strategic partnerships and license agreements.
Carbon fiber is stronger than steel, lighter than steel, but more expensive than steel. To paraphrase the singer Meat Loaf, “Two out of three ain’t good.”
The company is also in various stages of discussion with a dozen companies about collaborations and is finalizing an agreement with a customer to sell its first licensed commercial-scale, 1000-ton OPF line. Then, when that is demonstrated successfully, an additional 3000-ton carbon fiber line (6000 tons OPF) and an exclusive regional license will be executed.
According to industry sources, the carbon fiber market is expected to grow about 10 percent per year and accelerate as new markets are established and existing market growth accelerates. And, with only about 50 carbon fiber production lines in the world, there are significant opportunities
4M Carbon Fiber executed a Letter of Intent (LOI) in February 2025 with Carboscreen GmbH, a leader in artificial intelligence-driven fiber monitoring systems. This strategic collaboration aims to integrate cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology into 4M’s plasma oxidation manufacturing process, unlocking new levels of precision, efficiency, and quality control in carbon fiber production.
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