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China’s Fast-Growing Carbon Fiber Demand Expanding Sustainability Includes Exploring Fiber Advancements in China for the Growth of Their Green Economy By Jason Chen
t the 29th China International Manmade Fiber Conference (CIMFC), September 26-27 in Jilin City, Jilin Province, China, experts and executives spoke about challenges and opportunities, advanced materials, manufacturing technologies, and sustainability relevant to the manmade fiber industry. More than 30 speakers and approximate 400 fiber professionals attended the conferences for two days of programming. Speakers and attendees were primarily from mainland China, with representatives from the Europe, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, and Thailand also in attendance. The conference was organized by the China National Textile & Apparel Council (CNTAC), the Jilin Municipal Government, the China Chemical Fibers Association (CCFA), the China Textile International Exchange Center (CTIEC), and Jilin Mr. Chen Chemical Fiber Group Xinwei, president ( J C FG), th e w orl d ’s of CCFA, hosted second largest carbon the conferences. fiber producer, which is
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Mr. Duan Xiaoping, vice president of CNTAC, spoke about the challenges and opportunities for the Chinese manmade fiber industry.
headquartered in Jilin City. A combined conference, the 10th China Carbon Valley Carbon Fiber Industry Conference (CCVCFIC), was also held simultaneously with the CIMFC, making carbon fiber a main focus of the events.
Ambition for Carbon Fibers
Jilin Province is where China started its dream for carbon fibers. In 1962, the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry (CIAC), a Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) branch located in Changchun City, the capital of Jilin Province, began the research and development for carbon fibers. But commercialization hadn’t been achieved until in the 2000s when JCFG and several other Chinese companies launched their carbon fiber lines. JCFG, founded in 1959 as one of China’s oldest manmade fiber producers, started to manufacture carbon fibers in 2007. Today it has capacity of 49,000 metric tons per year, ranking No. 2 in the world, only
after Toray. In addition, it has annual capacity of 160,000 metric tons of carbon fiber precursor, and 20,000 metric tons of carbon fiber composites. JCFG has an even bigger plan. Currently, it is building several new plants, aiming to expand its capacity to exceed 400,000 metric tons per year in the near Mr. Song future. The goal includes Dewu, president 100,000 metric tons of of JCFG, spoke in carbon fibers, 330,000 the conferences. metric tons of carbon fiber precursors, and 65,000 metric tons of carbon fiber composites. JCFG’s ambitious expansion is based on China’s fast-growing carbon fiber demand. In 2022, China’s apparent consumption for carbon fibers reached 70,300 metric tons, up 21.98% from 57,600 metric tons in the previous year. Homegrown producers only met part of the demand, with 29,300 metric tons of carbon fibers and their related products imported in 2022. The fast growth and the gap between supply and demand attract Chinese companies to invest a lot more to expand their capacity rapidly.
