During the past decades, the ecological footprint caused by various human activities has largely increased with a clear tendency to further grow. This global socio-economic problem triggers environmental action plans in order to attenuate the ecological impact of the human activities. As a result, manufacturers in the transportation sector are under increasingly large pressure to reduce the ecological footprint of their products and to comply with the ever more stringent emission requirements of the European Union. The deployment of advanced lightweight materials (especially in the aerospace and automotive sector) is a response of the transportation industry to deal with this challenge. It is widely acknowledged that there is large weight-saving potential in the new composite materials that lead to increased energy efficiency and less emissions. Further strong socio-economic relevancies (next to cleaner vehicles) can be linked to the application of new composite materials such as improved products in terms of safety and reliability.