The first domestic production line for large-tow carbon fiber was successfully put into production, and the localization process of the domestic market has begun.

Carbon fiber refers to high-strength and high-modulus fibers with a carbon content of more than 90%. Carbon fiber can be divided into different tows, of which the number of carbon fibers in each bundle is greater than or equal to 48,000 (referred to as 48K) is called large tow carbon fiber. Compared with small tow carbon fiber, large tow carbon fiber has the characteristics of high coefficient of variation, good dispersion, and high cost performance.

Large tow carbon fiber has a wide range of applications. In the field of transportation, it can be used to manufacture carbon composite brake systems, automobile transmission shafts, aircraft parts, etc., which plays a role in promoting lightweight machinery and improving the performance of control systems; it can be used in manufacturing in the field of new energy Carbon fiber reinforced composite materials can improve energy utilization; in the construction field, they can be used to make reinforced cement composite materials, which can increase the service life of buildings; in the industrial field, they can be used to make various types of containers, pipes, shafts and other mechanical parts. To improve mechanical strength, stiffness, high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, etc.

Among them, the field of new energy and wind power is the most promising application field of large-tow carbon fiber. More than 60% of the raw materials of wind turbine blades mainly come from reinforced fiber materials and matrix resin materials. The use of large-tow carbon fiber can reduce the weight of wind turbine blades by 20% and It can significantly increase wind power generation capacity. In recent years, against the background of the continuous increase in domestic wind power installed capacity, the market size of wind power blades, as a key component of wind power, has continued to expand, which in turn has driven the increasing market demand for large tow carbon fiber.

According to data from the National Energy Administration, the country’s cumulative grid-connected wind power installed capacity in 2021 is 328 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 17.3%. The domestic wind power blade market size in 2021 will be 55.89 billion yuan. In this context, according to the “In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report on Large Tow Carbon Fiber Industry 2022-2026” released by the Industrial Research Center shows that the domestic market demand for large tow carbon fiber in 2021 will be 32,000 tons.

Large-tow carbon fiber is a technology-intensive industry. For a long time, foreign-funded enterprises have been in a monopoly position in our country and even the global market. In 2021, the global large-tow carbon fiber market is dominated by three companies: Hexcel of the United States, SGL of Germany, and Mitsubishi of Japan, with market shares of 59%, 30%, and 9% respectively. However, in recent years, as local companies continue to make breakthroughs in key technologies, my country’s large-tow carbon fiber has been domestically produced, and is expected to break the monopoly of foreign-funded companies in the future and challenge its global leadership. In October 2022, my country’s first 10,000-ton 48K large-tow carbon fiber project’s first domestic line was put into operation at Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Carbon Fiber Industry Base, and produced qualified products, with product quality reaching the international advanced level.

Industry analysis personnel said that large tow carbon fiber is widely used in wind power, transportation, new energy, industry, construction and other fields, and the demand The space is wider. At the same time, in the context of local companies’ continuous breakthroughs in key technologies, Shanghai Petrochemical has now achieved mass production capabilities for large-tow carbon fibers, becoming the first domestic company and the fourth company in the world to master large-tow carbon fiber production technology, marking a milestone for domestic large-tow carbon fiber production. The carbon fiber market broke the monopoly of foreign capital and started the process of localization. In the future, under the background of continued growth in market demand for large-tow carbon fiber and the accelerating localization process, it is expected that domestic large-tow carbon fiber production capacity will reach 189,000 tons by 2025, and the future prospects of industry development are promising.