A few days ago, I went to the Shanghai Composite Materials Exhibition and saw a dazzling display of domestically produced carbon fibers, which made me very happy. In the past 20 years, the level of domestic carbon fiber technology has rapidly improved, supporting the backbone of China's high-end composite materials and giving rise to a large number of domestic carbon fiber manufacturers.
I have been wanting to write an article for a long time to sort out the brand information of domestic carbon fiber for everyone's reference. Today, we will comprehensively review the domestic carbon fiber grades, performance, specifications, and other parameters.
Zhongfu Shenying
Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd. was established in 2006 and is affiliated with China National Building Materials Group Co., Ltd., a Fortune Global 500 enterprise managed by the State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. It is a national high-tech enterprise that integrates the research and development, production, and sales of carbon fiber and its composite materials. The company has production bases in Lianyungang and Xining, as well as a research and development base in Shanghai, with production capacity ranking among the top in China. The company was successfully listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on April 6, 2022 (stock abbreviation: Zhongfu Shenying, stock code: 688295).
Zhongfu Shenying System has mastered the thousand ton level technologies of T700, T800, M30, M35, as well as the hundred ton level technologies of T1000 and M40. It has achieved key technological breakthroughs in dry jet wet spinning and independent core equipment in China, and has mature ten thousand ton level carbon fiber production and manufacturing technology. At the Shanghai Composite Materials Exhibition on September 2nd, Zhongfu Shenying released three high-strength and high modulus series carbon fiber products, namely SYM50X-12K, SYM55J-6K, and SYM60J-6K.
From the naming convention of Zhongfu Shenying carbon fiber grades, there are mainly two series: high-strength and high model. Both series start with the first letter SY of Shenying, the third letter T represents high-strength, and M represents high model. For high-strength models (T series), the number represents tensile strength, while for high model models (M series), the number represents tensile modulus. Zhongfu Shenying does not strictly benchmark the carbon fiber grade of Dongli T300 model. SYT45 has a tensile strength of 4200MPa, while the tensile modulus of T300J series carbon fiber, which is a reinforced type of Dongli, is 230GPa. SYT45S has improved the tensile strength based on SYT45, but the modulus has not changed. SYT45T sacrifices some tensile modulus on the basis of SYT45S, increasing the elongation at break, which improves toughness. It is more suitable for some application scenarios that require high toughness and impact resistance.
SYT49S and SYT49T are benchmarked against Dongli T700 grade carbon fiber, both with a strength of 4900MPa. Similarly, SYT49T sacrifices some tensile modulus on the basis of SYT49S, increases fracture elongation, and improves toughness. It is worth noting that the SYT49S grade 24K new carbon fiber released by Zhongfu Shenying has significantly increased tensile modulus compared to the old model, reaching the performance of Dongli T800H grade carbon fiber, and the modulus is slightly higher than that of the old model SYT49S carbon fiber. It has to be said that Zhongfu Shenying SYT49 grade carbon fiber comprehensively outperforms Dongli T700 grade carbon fiber in terms of performance. Compared to Dongli T800H grade carbon fiber, which has a slightly lower modulus, Dongli T800H grade carbon fiber has a tensile modulus of 295GPa. But don't worry, looking down, the Zhongfu Shenying SYT55 grade carbon fiber is the model that truly benchmarks the Dongli T800H grade carbon fiber. The tensile modulus is the same, but the strength has been crushed, even surpassing the Dongli T800S grade carbon fiber.
SYT65 and SYT700 carbon fibers are comparable to Dongli T1000 and T1100 carbon fibers, and their performance is not significantly different. Next is the Zhongfu Shenying High Model Carbon Fiber M Series.
SYM30 seems a bit lackluster, with a modulus of only 280GPa, and has not yet reached the threshold of high modulus carbon fiber. It is somewhat difficult to call it a high model carbon fiber, and its strength is also between T300J and T700. It can be considered an improved universal grade carbon fiber. SYM40 and SYM40X are comparable to Dongli M40 carbon fiber, and their performance is not significantly different. SYM46 and SYM50 are benchmarked against Dongli M46 and M50 grade carbon fibers, and the performance difference is not significant, at least slightly higher, without forming an advantage in compaction.
The above interpretation only compares from a performance perspective and does not compare quality stability, such as the dispersion coefficient of product performance, which has not been disclosed by domestic and foreign carbon fiber manufacturers. We hope to have the opportunity to obtain data in this area before making a comparison.
It can be seen that Zhongfu Shenying has formed a complete series of products, involving high-strength and high model carbon fibers, with fiber bundle specifications ranging from 3K to 48K. There is no large fiber bundle carbon fiber product that can compare with the Zaltek large fiber bundle carbon fiber purchased by Dongli. If the data is updated, Sugravi will bring you a more comprehensive interpretation.
Jiangsu Hengshen
Jiangsu Hengshen Co., Ltd., founded in August 2007, covers an area of 1.07 million square meters and is located in Danyang City, Jiangsu Province. It is listed on the New Third Board (stock code: 832397) and is a national high-tech enterprise that integrates the production, design, research and development, sales, and technical application services of carbon fiber and its composite materials. It is affiliated with Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group, a Fortune 500 company. The product portfolio covers high-end full industry chain enterprises from raw silk, carbon fiber, sizing agents, fabrics, liquid resins, adhesives, pre impregnated materials, carbon fiber composite parts, and aviation composite structural parts. The company's products can be applied in fields such as aerospace, civil aviation, new energy, rail transit, marine engineering, engineering machinery, sports and leisure. The product models include high-strength carbon fibers such as HF20 series (T300 grade), HF30 series (T700 grade), HF40 series (T800 grade), HF50 series (T1000 grade), and high-strength and high modulus HM series. The product specifications include 1K, 3K, 6K, 12K, 24K, and 50K.
Hengshen Group's carbon fiber models mainly consist of two series, one is the HF series, corresponding to Dongli's T series, and the other is the HM series, corresponding to Dongli's M series carbon fiber. Let's first take a look at the most basic carbon fiber series of Hengshen Corporation - HF10 series. From the perspective of tensile strength, the HF10 series carbon fiber corresponds to Dongli's T300J model carbon fiber, and the modulus is basically the same. HF10B is an improved version based on HF10, with slightly increased strength. There are also three types of fiber bundle specifications: 3K, 6K, and 12K. And HF10J is 24K based on HF10B. So, the HF10 of Hengshen Stock includes three models, corresponding to the basic T300J grade carbon fiber, with fiber bundle specifications ranging from 3K-24K.
The HF20 series carbon fiber includes two models, HF20 and HF20T. HF20T is a carbon fiber with increased strength based on HF20. In terms of performance, it is also a standard modulus carbon fiber with tensile strength between Toray T300 and T700. HF20 and Dongli T400H have similar performance, while HF20T has higher tensile strength compared to Dongli T400H grade carbon fiber.
The HF30 series carbon fiber is a T700 grade carbon fiber in the standard sense, which also includes two models, HF30F and HF30T. The performance difference between the two models is not very large, except that HF30T has a lower modulus and a higher elongation at break. It is estimated that Hengshen Group launched it as a high toughness carbon fiber. So far, the above three series of carbon fibers are still standard modulus carbon fibers, but their strength may differ. From HF10 to HF30, there is a one-time increase in strength, corresponding to Dongli T300J, T400H, T700H grade carbon fiber. So when it comes to HF40 and HF50 series carbon fibers, they begin to enter the ranks of medium modulus carbon fibers.
The HF40 and HF50 series carbon fibers are both medium modulus carbon fibers, with HF40 corresponding to the Dongli T800 grade carbon fiber, with a strength between T800H and T800S. The tensile modulus of Dongli T800H is 5490MPa, and the tensile modulus of T800S is 5880MPa. It is worth noting that the tensile strength of HF40T carbon fiber from Hengshen Co., Ltd. is higher than that of Dongli T800S grade carbon fiber, with the same modulus. In terms of performance, it is not inferior at all. The HF40T only has 12K, while the HF40 only has 6K, 12K, and 24K. HF50 is a T1000G grade carbon fiber in the standard sense.
Below is the high modulus series carbon fiber from Hengshen Co., Ltd. HM34 corresponds to Dongli M35, HM37 corresponds to Dongli M40J, slightly lower than M40, and HM43 and HM47 respectively benchmark Dongli's M46J and M50J grade carbon fibers. From the perspective of tensile strength and tensile modulus, they are both similar. However, in terms of fiber bundle specifications, Hengshen's high modulus carbon fibers are only available in three types: 3K, 6K, and 12K. We look forward to more fiber bundle specifications being provided to the market in the future.
Finally, when sorting out the fiber performance parameters of Hengshen, a problem was found that the larger the carbon fiber bundle of the same series, the slightly lower the performance. This decline should not be related to the carbon fiber spinning raw materials, it can only be stabilized by exploring the spinning process parameters. This problem is common in some other manufacturers, and improving performance stability is a long-term accumulation process that can only be gradually improved.
Weihai Guangwei
Weihai Guangwei Composite Materials Co., Ltd. (stock code: 300699), affiliated with Weihai Guangwei Group, is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the research and production of high-performance carbon fiber and composite materials. The company has subsidiaries such as Weihai Expanded Fiber Co., Ltd., General New Materials Division, Weihai Guangwei Composite Material Technology Co., Ltd., Weihai Guangwei Energy New Materials Co., Ltd., Weihai Guangwei Precision Machinery Co., Ltd., Weihai Guangsheng Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd., Inner Mongolia Guangwei Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd., and Guangwei Beijing R&D Center, which can provide customers with integrated full industry chain services of "raw silk carbon fiber fabric prepreg composite material products equipment manufacturing testing analysis technical design".
The carbon fiber products of Weihai Expansion Fiber Co., Ltd. under the company mainly include various types of carbon fibers and composite materials such as GQ3522 (T300 grade), GQ4522 (T700 grade), QZ5526 (T800 grade), QZ6026 (T1000 grade), QZ6526 (T1100 grade), QM4035 (M40J grade), QM4050 (M55J grade), QM3560 (M65J grade), and QM5535 (M40X grade).
The naming of Weihai Guangwei's carbon fiber models is relatively simple, consisting of two series, both starting with the extended initial letter TZ, a 3-digit or 4-digit number representing high-strength carbon fiber, benchmarking against Japan's Toray T series. It is also clear from the numbers that TZ300 corresponds to T300 basic carbon fiber, with a strength of only 3530MPa. TZ700 corresponds to T700 grade carbon fiber. So the carbon fiber model of Guangwei can be classified by its name. If we only look at performance, the difference in performance compared to the Dongli T series carbon fiber is not very significant.
You must have seen a special model CCF700G with sharp eyes, which was developed in 2006 and has been around for 18 years now. This carbon fiber combines the high strength of T700 grade carbon fiber with the excellent surface properties of T300 grade carbon fiber. Since 2011, after multiple stages and batches of sampling, performance evaluation, and verification processes, it has passed the installation evaluation of aviation equipment.
Guangwei's high modulus series of carbon fibers are benchmarked against M40, M55, M60, and M65 grade carbon fibers, and their performance parameters are also similar. It can be seen that Guangwei has a relatively complete reserve of carbon fiber models.
Zhongjian Technology
The company was founded in 2008 and listed on the ChiNext board in 2018. It is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the research and development, production, sales, and technical services of high-performance carbon fiber and related products. It is a domestic manufacturer of high-performance carbon fiber and related products with completely independent intellectual property rights. The company's main products are high-performance carbon fiber and carbon fiber fabrics, and the technical indicators of the products have reached the advanced level of similar international products. Currently, they are mainly used in the aerospace field. Since its establishment, the company has always adhered to the research and production of high-performance carbon fiber, and has successfully developed multiple series of carbon fiber products such as ZT7, ZT8, ZT9, and M40J. In November 2020, it was selected as one of the second batch of specialized and innovative "little giants" by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Zhongjian Technology also has a comprehensive range of carbon fiber models. As a leading domestic carbon fiber enterprise, Zhongjian Technology has formed four types of carbon fibers: high-strength standard model, high-strength medium model, high-strength high model, and high model. The model naming and performance parameters also fully cover T700 and above high-strength and M40 high model carbon fibers. From a clear perspective, ZT represents high-strength type, ZM represents high modulus type carbon fiber, and the following numbers represent strength level or modulus level.
Zhongjian Technology's carbon fiber has been applied in certain high-end fields and can sustain stable supply. This also enables Zhongjian Technology to become one of the few carbon fiber manufacturers in China that can withstand market cycles and sustain profitability. For high modulus carbon fibers, the current state is a low batch production state. With the increase of production capacity, it is believed that mass production will soon be achieved.
Changsheng Technology
Changsheng (Langfang) Technology Co., Ltd. is located in the High tech Industrial Development Zone of Langfang City, Hebei Province, with a registered capital of 1.366 billion yuan. With the theme of providing comprehensive solutions for the composite materials industry, in-depth research has been conducted on oil agents, sizing agents, and expanding the application of composite materials. The main carbon fiber products include T700-12K, T700-24K, T800-12K, T800-24K, T1000, T1100, and M series. It is also the first domestic company to achieve industrial production of T1000 and T1100 grade carbon fibers at the thousand ton level. As the upstream of the carbon fiber industry chain, we will rely on our own scale and technological leadership to form a carbon fiber industry cluster effect in Langfang City, gradually building a trillion dollar market value carbon fiber industry ecosystem.
In April 2024, the ZA55GC product independently developed by Changsheng Technology successfully entered the material supply system of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). This product will work together with the aviation industry of China to provide pre impregnated composite components for civil large aircraft such as C919 and C929, filling the gap in China's carbon fiber field for civil large aircraft and marking Changsheng Technology's official entry into the core stage of civil aviation large aircraft.
From Zhonganxin to Changsheng Technology, this company has gone through a rebirth. Fortunately, it has now found strong investors, professional management teams, and technical teams, giving the impression that this company seems to have emerged from the crowd, instantly possessing the production capacity of high-performance carbon fibers at all levels. But little do they know, everyone in this company has gone through decades or even decades of technological accumulation behind them.
From the naming of Changsheng Technology's carbon fiber models, it can be seen that there is still a shadow of Zhonganxin, and all carbon fiber models start with ZA. Compared with the carbon fiber manufacturers mentioned above, Changsheng Technology mostly produces high-strength standard and high-strength high model carbon fibers, with the highest modulus reaching M40 level. There are no higher modulus carbon fibers put into production yet.
In terms of carbon fiber performance of Changsheng Technology, the ZA50 series carbon fiber belongs to the standard modulus carbon fiber, but its strength is much higher than that of the Toray T700. Moreover, the ZA50 series has two models to choose from: 230GPa and 250GPa, and the fiber bundle specifications are 12K and 24K, but there are no smaller fiber bundle specifications such as 3K and 6K. If you need it, you can consult their salesperson.
The ZA55 series is benchmarked against the Dongli T800 grade carbon fiber, with multiple models available. Changsheng Technology has announced multiple models with differentiation, and customers can choose based on their strength and modulus, giving them the right to choose. ZA65 and ZA70 are basically benchmarked against the carbon fiber grades of Dongli T1000 and T1100. Similarly, Changsheng Technology has multiple models to choose from on this basis. ZA40M carbon fiber is benchmarked against M40 grade carbon fiber. We believe that in the future, Changsheng Technology will continue this naming convention for high modulus models of carbon fiber, such as ZA55M and ZA60M.
Guoxing Carbon Fiber
Jilin Guoxing Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd. was established on December 12, 2008, with a registered capital of 50 million yuan. It is a high-tech enterprise mainly engaged in carbon fiber production, product processing, sales, and carbon fiber technology consulting. The company has an independent research and development team of professional technical talents, advanced high-end technical equipment, and complete inspection and testing equipment. It has upgraded its original 500 tons/year carbon fiber production line to 1000 tons/year, and is fully committed to creating carbon fiber filaments with independent intellectual property rights and innovation capabilities.
The main specifications of the company's products include 1K, 3K, 6K, 12K, 18K, 25K, and 35K carbon fiber. The production line can implement customized flexible production according to customer needs, and the leading product, 12K carbon fiber, has been identified to have international advanced quality.
The models of Guoxing carbon fiber are relatively simple, strictly speaking, only universal grade carbon fiber, corresponding to the T300 and T700 carbon fibers. The performance of GX400 is between T300 and T300J, while the performance of GX700 is equivalent to T700 grade carbon fiber, with fiber bundle specifications ranging from 1K to 50K, focusing on a comprehensive approach. Although it does not have high-end carbon fiber in terms of performance, it follows a civilian route with large quantities and low prices. In recent years, it has also been favored by many prepreg and carbon cloth factories, and there is no worry about no sales.
Baojing Carbon Fiber
Baojing Carbon Fiber Industry is a subsidiary of Baowu Carbon Industry Technology Co., Ltd., a carrier of the "One Foundation and Five Elements" strategic new material industry of China Baowu Group, a Fortune 500 company. It is located in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province and Jilin City, Jilin Province. The company's core business is the design, research and development, and manufacturing of carbon fiber, resin, and carbon fiber composite materials. It is positioned in the fields of aerospace, new energy, automotive lightweighting, rail transit, marine equipment, etc. It has advanced equipment and technical reserves such as a thousand ton carbon fiber production workshop, a composite technology engineering research and development center, a provincial composite testing center, a composite material molding workshop, a prepreg production workshop, and a high-performance resin workshop. It provides customers in different fields with the research and development and production of carbon fiber, resin, prepreg basic materials, and high-performance composite materials. Its product development technology in aerospace has reached the leading domestic and international levels, helping China's aerospace development. Baojing Carbon Fiber Industry is also committed to solving the bottleneck problem of domestic carbon fiber, with a carbon fiber production capacity exceeding 10000 tons per year in 2021.
Baojing Carbon Fiber Division focuses on the research and development, production, and manufacturing of high-performance carbon fiber and its composite materials, and has formed a series of large-scale products. Carbon fiber products include specifications such as JLBJ4524-25K and ZJBJ4022-12K, which are suitable for fields such as wind power new energy, sports and leisure, aerospace, and rail transit. In terms of composite material products, Baojing independently develops and manufactures large-scale unmanned aerial vehicle composite material bodies and solid rocket engine composite material shell products, with domestically leading technological levels.
Baojing's carbon fiber is mainly high-strength carbon fiber, mainly T300J grade and T700 grade carbon fiber. Although some high specification tensile strength far exceeds T700 grade carbon fiber, the tensile modulus is still within the standard modulus range and has not yet reached the level of T800 grade carbon fiber. However, relying on this big tree of Baowu Group, Baojing has achieved steady and far-reaching success, and I believe there will be more models launched in the future.
Longju, Xinjiang
Mainly engaged in the research and development, production, sales, and related technical services of carbon fiber raw fibers, carbon fiber filaments, carbon fiber composite materials, and carbon fiber products; The project covers an area of approximately 860 acres, with a planned total investment of 6 billion yuan. It is planned to build 8 carbonization workshops and 16 production lines within 5 years, forming a production scale of 50000 tons of high-performance carbon fiber per year. The annual sales revenue is expected to reach 7.5 billion yuan, making it the largest carbon fiber raw material base in the world and meeting the demand for carbon fiber in China's wind energy, hydrogen energy, photovoltaic and other industries.
The high-performance carbon fiber project has landed in the Ganquanbao Economic and Technological Development Zone in Urumqi, filling the gap in local carbon fiber production in Xinjiang. It will also attract upstream and downstream enterprises in the carbon fiber composite material industry chain to settle in Ganquanbao, forming a carbon material industry cluster and supporting the agglomeration and development of the new material industry in Ganquanbao.
This company is a rising carbon fiber manufacturer in recent years, launching T400, T700, and T800 grade carbon fibers in just a few years, with even greater capacity to be released in the future.
Lanzhou Blue Star
After introducing British carbon fiber technology, Blue Star Company has optimized and transformed it, forming a process technology with independent intellectual property rights. The carbon fiber raw silk produced using the unique NaSCN one-step process in China is more suitable for producing low-cost industrial grade large fiber bundles. It has the characteristics of short process, low energy consumption, and large single line production capacity.
In 2018, Blue Star Company invested over 100 million yuan to carry out technological transformation on the Lanzhou Blue Star fiber raw silk production line, upgrading the product from the original 24K to 50K. In the second half of 2019, the 50K carbon fiber production line was fully operational. At present, the company has an annual production capacity of 4000 tons of raw silk and 2000 tons of carbon fiber.
Blue Star 50K large fiber bundle carbon fiber, relying on the cost advantage of self-produced raw silk and the research and development advantage of Beijing Carbon Fiber Technology Research Center, breaks through the bottleneck of large fiber bundle industrialization production and fills the gap of large fiber bundle carbon fiber in China.
Blue Star only has two models, LX300 compared to T300 and LX400 compared to T400 level, specializing in large fiber bundles. I have heard some customers talk about Blue Star's carbon fiber before, which has a lot of fuzz but cannot withstand the cheap price, so there is still some market space.
Additionally, I would like to say a few more words. Blue Star was one of the earliest companies in our country to introduce foreign carbon fiber technology. They purchased technology from the British company Kaotalz. Speaking of Kaotalz, many people may not be familiar with it. There are two founders of PAN based carbon fiber, one is Akio Kondo from Japan and the other is Watt from the UK, not Watt who invented the steam engine. Watt's technology was licensed to two companies, one was this Kotorz and the other was Rolls Royce. However, Rolls Royce abandoned carbon fiber due to a bird strike accident while working on aviation engines. Only Kotorz persisted and eventually sold the equipment to Sigli and the technology to Blue Star
The above is my comprehensive understanding of domestic carbon fiber grades and performance. If there are any inappropriate aspects, please feel free to leave a message to participate in the discussion. The data in this article is sourced from publicly available data from various manufacturers, with some manufacturers' data not being made public. Sugravi contacted relevant personnel from major manufacturers to provide detailed data. This article only benchmarks the performance of carbon fiber from various manufacturers from a performance perspective, and does not involve considerations of quality stability. As is well known, the price of carbon fiber is not only determined by performance, but also by quality stability, such as whether the dispersion coefficient is small enough and whether the quality uniformity is reliable. This is precisely the direction that domestic carbon fiber needs to strive for. We hope to have the opportunity to obtain relevant data in the future to analyze the technical level of domestic carbon fiber in more detail.
Thank you again to the Chairman of Changsheng Technology, Pu Yongwei; the Chairman of Zhongjian Technology, Yang Yonggang; the Chairman of Zhongjian Technology, Li Hui; the Guoxing Carbon Fiber, Wang Xuesong; and the Baojing Carbon Fiber, Wang Yinchao, for their assistance in this article.
Finally, I am once again proud of the achievements made by domestic carbon fiber manufacturers. Thank you to these carbon fiber workers for their tireless efforts, which have enabled China's high-end composite materials to stand firm. I wish domestic carbon fiber manufacturers a better future
Source: Carbon Fiber Study Society
Disclaimer: Some of the content and images in this article are sourced from publicly available information on the internet. The purpose of publishing this article is only for the exchange and sharing of market information on carbon fiber and its composite materials, and not for any commercial purposes. If any individual or organization has doubts about the copyright of an article or the authenticity and accuracy of its content, please contact us as soon as possible, and we will handle it promptly.