And if that wasn't enough, the research also details the process for creating the composite using electrochemical deposition.

ENGADGET: NC State researcher finds more efficient way to cool devices, looks to cut costs too

The lightest ultrastrong automotive materials, carbon-fiber composites, looked too costly for cars until a Rocky Mountain Institute spinoff commercialized an automated manufacturing process that makes complex composite parts in less than a minute.

CNN: Freeing America from its addiction to oil

Among the flourishes is the Vanquish's rear-spoiler hoop that, being made of carbon composite, required a unique and proprietary tooling process.

WSJ: 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Review: No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to

While Boeing took a gamble in creating an aircraft so dependent on electrical systems and composite aerostructures, it has already gone through the lengthy and painful process of convincing regulators the Dreamliner is safe.

CNN: How Boeing can bounce back from Dreamliner problems

"By harnessing the electrostatic nature of the assembly process with the functional properties of the virus, we can create highly ordered composite thin films combining the function of the virus and polymer systems, " Hammond says.

FORBES: Breakthroughs