# AvCarb Material Solutions

> AvCarb Material Solutions is a Lowell, Massachusetts manufacturer of engineered carbon fiber materials - gas diffusion layers, felts, papers, woven fabrics and molded graphite laminates - built for the toughest electrochemical, thermal and friction jobs. With roots tracing to AVCO in the early 1960s (the same Lowell operation that helped develop Apollo's AVCOAT heat shield), AvCarb now supplies the carbon guts of hydrogen fuel cells, electrolyzers and redox flow batteries, alongside legacy work in automotive wet friction and even fishing-reel drag washers.

- **Founded:** 1960
- **Headquarters:** Lowell, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founders:** Roger Masse (CEO), Guy Ebbrell (President)
- **Team size:** ~41 employees
- **Products:** Gas Diffusion Layers (GDL), Molded Graphite Laminates (MGL), Carbon Felt, Carbon Fabric / Woven Carbon Fabrics, Wet Friction Materials
- **Notable:** Traces its heritage to AVCO in Lowell, the operation associated with the Apollo AVCOAT thermal protection material., Running high-volume GDL production for fuel cells since 1998., Shipped millions of square meters of gas diffusion layer for fuel cell systems since 2010.

## Products & services

- **Gas Diffusion Layers (GDL)** — Proprietary carbon fiber paper combined with PTFE treatment and micro-porous layer coatings, engineered for PEMFC, DMFC and PAFC fuel cells and electrolyzers. The 7000-series GDLs support demanding electrochemical applications.
- **Molded Graphite Laminates (MGL)** — Rigid graphite sheets built to survive the harsh electrochemical environments found in electrolyzers and fuel cell systems.
- **Carbon Felt** — Needle-punched felts made from oxidized PAN staple fibers, available in a range of thicknesses and weights - used as electrodes in redox flow batteries and for high-temperature industrial insulation.
- **Carbon Fabric / Woven Carbon Fabrics** — Woven carbon materials engineered for gas transport, motion control, electrical conductivity and elevated-temperature environments, including carbon cloth GDL substrates.
- **Wet Friction Materials** — High-performance carbon friction components trusted by automotive OEMs for 25+ years in powertrain and motion-control systems.
- **Drag Washers** — Carbon drag washers for fishing reels, tuned for smooth, consistent, long-lasting drag performance.
- **Custom Carbon Solutions** — Application-development and engineering support to tailor carbon fiber products to specific customer requirements.

## Achievements

- Traces its heritage to AVCO in Lowell, the operation associated with the Apollo AVCOAT thermal protection material.
- Running high-volume GDL production for fuel cells since 1998.
- Shipped millions of square meters of gas diffusion layer for fuel cell systems since 2010.
- Acquired by Arsenal Capital Partners in November 2021 to accelerate decarbonization technologies.
- Maintains ISO 9001:2015 certification.
- 25+ years of trusted wet friction material supply to automotive OEMs.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Announced participation in ICAST 2026, the sport-fishing trade show, promoting carbon drag-washer products.
- **2022-06** — Featured in a Massachusetts state fact sheet highlighting AvCarb's Lowell operations and clean-energy manufacturing role.
- **2021-11** — Arsenal Capital Partners completed its growth investment / acquisition of AvCarb (transaction closed October 29, 2021).

## Links

- Website: https://avcarb.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avcarb-material-solutions
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AvCarb

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/avcarb-material-solutions
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-07