BMW plans big expansion of Moses Lake carbon-fiber plant

Thanks to Eastern Washington’s cheap and renewable hydroelectricity, Moses Lake will have “the largest carbon-fiber plant on earth,” a German auto executive leading the project said Friday.

By: Dominic Gates
The Seattle Times

MOSES LAKE — By early next year, drawn by the cheap and renewable hydroelectricity of Eastern Washington, this state will have “the largest carbon-fiber plant on Earth,” a German executive leading the project said Friday.

Amid the dirt fields outside this modest farming town, where a stiff wind blows tumbleweeds across the highway, a gleaming $200 million factory already makes the carbon-fiber threads that become the tough carbon composite shell of BMW’s i-series electric and hybrid cars.

An additional $100 million investment announced Friday, coupled with an earlier expansion now nearly complete, will triple the plant’s annual capacity to 9,000 tons of carbon fiber. Read More