Chemical giants successively involved in the carbon fiber market

Affected by the economic recovery, the global carbon fiber market has shown signs of rapid recovery. Some manufacturers have resumed their projects that were shelved during the recession. At the same time, more and more chemical companies have begun to intervene in this market with huge growth potential and accelerated the pace of carbon fiber R&D and production.

According to a study by Lucintel of the United States, the global carbon fiber market will continue to grow at a rate of 13% per year over the next five years. It is estimated that the global carbon fiber market will reach US$2.3 billion by 2015. Market participants said that the demand for carbon fiber in the fields of aerospace, wind power generation and sports equipment is growing rapidly. In addition, the application of carbon fiber is continuously expanding. In the aerospace sector, primary or secondary structure model for a growing number of commercial aircraft and aircraft ** The application of carbon fiber composite materials production. In addition to aerospace, wind turbine blades have also become one of the major applications for carbon fiber. It is understood that a set of blades only weighs 18 tons. If carbon fiber is used, it can not only reduce the weight by 6 tons, but also increase the strength and toughness, and increase the power generation. This makes the application of carbon fiber in wind power blades more and more. Some experts predict that by 2014, more than 50,000 tons of carbon fiber will flow into the blade market every year.

Dow Chemical recently stated that the Dow Europe subsidiary and Turkey Aksa (Akrilik Kimya Sanayii) have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint venture to produce and sell carbon fiber and related products. Dow said that the demand for lightweight carbon fiber-based materials currently used in wind power, transportation and infrastructure is very strong. Dow Chemical's president Li Weicheng said that the cooperation between Dow Chemical and Aksa is a powerful combination, and will use leading-edge technology and world-class production scale to provide innovative solutions for the industry to help customers improve the energy capture of wind turbines Gathering efficiency, improving the fuel economy of vehicles, and extending the life cycle of roads and buildings. ”

South Korea Hunan Petrochemical Corporation announced in 2010 that it entered the carbon fiber composite materials business. The company has signed an agreement to purchase a 51% controlling stake in South Korea's DACC Aerospace, a supplier of aircraft parts. Hunan Petrochemical and DACC Aerospace Co., Ltd. plan to develop carbon fiber composite materials for aircraft business with the goal of achieving sales revenue of more than 200 billion won (US$168 million) in five years. DACC Aerospace supplies components to the Boeing 787 passenger aircraft and the Embraer Phenom 100 aircraft of the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer.

Toray Industries’ Korean subsidiary Toray Advanced Materials Korea (TAK) plans to invest 63 billion won (US$57 million) to build a new 2,200-ton/year carbon fiber production facility in its plant in Gumi, South Korea. Construction started in early 2011 and it is expected to be completed and put into operation in January 2013. Toray Industries said: "As of now, almost all of Korea's carbon fiber demand depends on imports. TAK's new carbon fiber plant will ensure a steady supply of domestic carbon fiber demand in Korea. This is also Toray Industries' rapid growth in Asia, led by South Korea and China. The response of the carbon fiber market."