News Information

On April 28th, it was learned from the press office of Sinopec that the construction of the 30,000-ton large-filament carbon fiber project of Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical in a different location officially started in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia. Relying on Shanghai Petrochemical's own large-filament carbon fiber patent technology and the abundant green electricity resources in Inner Mongolia, the project will build 10 more energy-efficient carbon fiber production lines, all of which are expected to be completed and put into operation by 2027. After going into production, it can provide large-filament carbon fiber materials for wind power, energy storage, low-altitude industries and other fields, offer key material support for the new energy industry, and contribute to the upgrading and development of China's new materials industry.

Carbon fiber has superior performance and is known as the "King of New Materials" and "black gold". In the carbon fiber industry, carbon fibers with more than 48,000 strands per bundle (referred to as 48K for short) are generally called large filament carbon fibers. The large-filament carbon fiber developed and produced by Shanghai Petrochemical is a new type of high-strength fiber material with a carbon content of over 95%. Its mechanical properties are excellent. Its specific gravity is less than a quarter of that of steel, but its strength is 7 to 9 times that of steel. Moreover, it also has the characteristic of corrosion resistance. Furthermore, the greatest advantage of 48K large filament bundle is that under the same production conditions, it can not only significantly increase the single-line production capacity and quality performance of carbon fiber, but also achieve low-cost production, thereby breaking the application limitations brought about by the high price of carbon fiber.

Huang Xiangyu, the deputy general manager of Shanghai Petrochemical, said that this project was built on the basis of Sinopec's original large-filament carbon fiber technology through continuous research and development and iterative optimization. The design and equipment levels are safer, more environmentally friendly, mature and reliable, reaching the international leading technical level. This project is conducive to further promoting the industrial structure adjustment of Shanghai Petrochemical and building a carbon fiber industrial ecosystem. At present, Shanghai Petrochemical is actively making strategic plans for the carbon fiber industry in line with the development directions of emerging and future industries, and is accelerating the full coverage of carbon fiber product lines including "large filament + small filament" and "high performance + general grade".

Sinopec is the first domestic and the fourth global enterprise to master the technology of large-filament carbon fiber. Sinopec has concentrated all kinds of resources, made every effort to break through the key core technologies of carbon fiber, and carried out top-level design. It has blazed a trail of collaborative innovation that combines "production, learning, research and application" with the enterprise as the main body. In 2018, it achieved a major technological breakthrough, successfully trial-produced 48K large-filament carbon fiber, and integrated the entire process. In October 2022, China's first fully domestic production line for 48K large-filament carbon fiber was put into operation at Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical. Sinopec became the first domestic and the fourth global enterprise to master the production technology of large-filament carbon fiber. By the end of 2024, Sinopec had accumulated 265 patents related to carbon fiber and 140 patents for carbon fiber composite materials, ranking first in China and third globally in terms of patent applications. At present, Shanghai Petrochemical has an annual production capacity of 24,000 tons of 48K raw silk and 6,000 tons of 48K large filament carbon fiber, and all performance standards have been met.