MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake will soon be home to the world's largest carbon fiber manufacturing plant.

Officials from BMW and SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers broke ground in May on a third production building at their Moses Lake plant. The expansion, which is expected to be completed by 2015, will triple production capacity.

The plant produces about 3,000 metric tons of carbon fiber a year with two production lines in one building. The plant's second building, with lines three and four, will be commissioned this summer and bring the plant's capacity to 6,000 metric tons of fiber a year. Production lines five and six, which will be located in the new building, will triple capacity to 9,000 metric tons annually.

"With its highly automated carbon fiber production and stringent quality standards, Moses Lake is setting new standards in the industry," said Dr. Jürgen Köhler, CEO of SGL Group. "At present, the site is the world's fastest growing carbon fiber producer."

SGL officials said the expansion is necessary to meet the high demand for carbon fiber in automotive production.

Carbon fiber from the Moses Lake plant is used exclusively in BMW's i-series line of cars. The cars are assembled in Leipzig, Germany.

Since the start of the year, the Leipzig plant has built more than 5,000 BMW i3 vehicles. The plant currently produces about 100 cars a day.

The expansion of the Moses Lake plant will also make it possible for BMW to use carbon fiber in other vehicles model series in the future, at competitive costs and in large quantities.

The two companies initially invested $100 million to get the plant up and running. This new expansion represents an additional investment of $200 million and will result in the creation of 120 new jobs at the plant.

The plant currently employs about 80 people.

BMW's Dr. Klaus Draeger said carbon fiber is a key material for the automotive industry.

"In our endeavor to identify increasingly lightweight materials in order to reduce a vehicle's weight and thus its fuel consumption and carbon emissions, this material plays a crucial role," he said.

Gov. Jay Inslee said he is proud Washington is playing a part in the effort to reduce the carbon pollution that goes into the atmosphere from the transportation sector.

"It doesn't matter what country or state you are in, our children are now at a great risk because of carbon pollution," he said. "There is no greater step forward to reduce carbon pollution than right here with BMW and SGL and the great working people of Moses Lake."