DETROIT – General Motors and Teijin Limited announced they will co-develop advanced carbon fiber composite technologies for potential high-volume use globally in GM cars, trucks, and crossovers.

According to GM, the co-development agreement the companies signed involves use of Teijin’s carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) technology, which is a faster and more efficient method for producing carbon fiber composites that could be used in new vehicles. Carbon fiber is 10 times stronger than regular-grade steel but weighs roughly a quarter as much, according to GM.

GM and Teijin cited increasingly strict global environmental and fuel-economy standards, and the potential for carbon fiber to reduce vehicle weight, as the reason for GM’s interest in this technology.

Teijin said it will establish a new technical center in the U.S. to support its relationship with GM.