Partners seek carbon fiber from gas

Using a catalyst discovered by West Virginia University chemical engineering professor John Hu, a group led by Santa Monica, Calif.-based start-up C4-MCP hopes to commercialize a process to make carbon fiber and nanotubes from natural gas. The group is seeking $700,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will help with technology development and economic analysis. Utility company Southern California Gas is also backing the group in hopes of selling hydrogen fuel made as a by-product of the catalytic process.