As part of the "1st International Dresden Colloquium on Tailored Carbon Fibres" in Dresden last May, globally leading carbon fibre scientists founded the international research network “Global Scientific Association of Advanced Carbon Fibres”. It consists of scientists from Japan, South Korea, Australia, the US, France, Greece, Belgium and Germnay. Prof. Hubert Jäger from the Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology at the TU Dresden has taken over organisational responsibility for the network. Providing new directions in carbon research over the next few years, the conference focused on tailormade carbon fibres that meet the specific requirements of different industries and whose special properties lend themselves to diverse applications. The internationally renowned scientists presented their latest findings on cutting-edge research into tailored carbon fibres and offered glimpses into the future of high-tech fibres and their applications. The newest developments show that the use of carbon fibres will expand from lightweight materials to energy storage, also promising breakthroughs in battery technology. One of the most important aspects of future developments is the use of new renewable resources, such as lignin, but also cost and property optimisation of alternative raw materials such as the petroleum product polyacrylonitrile (PAN).