Zoltek invests $5 million, hoping to cut fiber costs. (Zoltek Companies Inc.)

St. Louis-based Zoltek Cos. Inc. is investing up to $5 million in its newly acquired Hungarian plant to help bring down to Earth the space-age costs of carbon fiber.

Incredibly strong and incredibly lightweight, carbon fiber is also incredibly expensive. Though carbon fibers have the potential to be used in numerous applications, the product costs between $10 and $12 per pound thereby limiting its uses. In a secondary public offering completed in November, Zoltek raised $26.3 million in capital, with a majority of the proceeds going toward the company's acquisition of Magyar Viscosa, a Hungarian acrylic and nylon fibers plant.

The Hungarian operation cost Zoltek …