Carbon fiber is widely acknowledged as an outstanding fiber due to its exceptional performances featuring high tenacity, high-temperature endurance, high abrasion resistance and , many industries such as aeronautics industry, machinery, architectural industry all extensively choose carbon fiber to reinforce products´ performance. Consumption of carbon fiber grows year by year with technology advancing and applied areas expanding. In the year 2007, domestic PAN-based carbon fiber consumption reached up to 6,900 tons and is expected to increase to about 8,700 tons up until 2010. China domestic carbon fiber has been a long-time in a passive position due to technology blockade from advanced countries. Some carbon fiber composite materials cannot even find raw materials to support manufacturing which is ironic and embarrassed. In the mean time, worldwide consumption of carbon fiber is not likely to plunge due to persistent demand from large aviation aircraft manufacturing and clean energy industry. Therefore, China must have to be independent on this strategically important high-tech material to satisfy demand from high-end customers.

Chinese domestic carbon fiber R&D history originated from 1960´s, but no significant breakthrough has been made from then. In contrast with the technologies advanced countries has mastered, China carbon fiber industry has been left far behind which severely affected and obstructed national defense progress and simultaneously poses a potential threat to national security. High-value added pillar industries of national economy are to a large extent affected by the lagging carbon fiber technology. Basically, there are two aspects constrained domestic carbon fiber development: first and foremost, inferior carbon fiber precursor. Quality of domestic carbon fiber precursor still has a long way to go in comparison with the same products from abroad which directly restrained final carbon fiber products quality to make further progress. Second is high-temperature resistant material and large-scale high-temperature furnace. Domestic carbonizing furnace can only withstand temperature lower than 1,400℃ using carborundum as heater while imported advanced high-temperature carbonizing furnace could withstand temperature higher than 1,800℃ using graphite as heater allowing adequate carbonizing. High-temperature resistant carbonizing furnace is also strictly forbidden to export to china by foreign countries since this is a pinnacle technology to manufacture high-quality carbon fiber.

To break up this technology blockade and meet the demand from increasing domestic demand, many chemical fiber manufacturers unremittingly invest R&D fund to support carbon fiber technology. Shanxi Hengtian New Textile Fiber Tech Co., Ltd has established PAN-based carbon fiber manufacturing line with annual output capacity 1,200 tons. Lianyungang Shenying New fiber Tech Co,. Ltd. has established PAN-based precursor manufacturing line with annual output capacity 2,500 tons and carbon fiber manufacturing line with annual output capacity 1,000 tons. Weihai Guangwei Group has established PAN-based precursor carbon fiber manufacturing line. Currently all these manufacturing lines together contributed over 40 million tons of PAN-based carbon fiber, 13 million tons of carbon fiber and over 300,000 meters of carbon fiber composite material output annually.

The implementation of all the aforementioned programs marked a substantial breakthrough of carbon fiber industry exerting great influence on the development of many hi-tech fibers.

Source: China Textile Leader