Key words: Carbon fiber, Market, Small tow, Heavy tow

Abstract: Carbon fiber composite (CFRP) has been used in many fields for its excellent properties. However, due to the high price of carbon fiber and the high cost of preparation of composite material, its large-scale application in civil field is limited.

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The main factors of high cost of carbon fiber composites include high production cost of carbon fiber raw materials and high preparation cost of composite materials. This article introduces a global overview of the carbon fiber market in global and in China.

Global

According to relevant data shown in the below table, in the small tow carbon fiber market, Japanese enterprises account for 49% of the global production capacity; in the heavy tow carbon fiber market, Hexcel from the United States occupies an absolute advantage, with a global market share of 58%; followed by SGL from Germany, accounting for 31%, and Mitsubishi from Japan ranks third, accounting for 9%. These three enterprises occupy the global market share of large tow carbon fiber 98% of the total, while other enterprises only account for the remaining 2%.

China

Up to now, carbon fiber production in China is still dominated by small tow carbon fiber. Since the development of carbon fiber is mainly focused on the development of aerospace, in the past, the production of composite materials was mainly to meet the needs of aerospace. At present, the international price of 3K carbon fiber used in aircraft structure is about USD 50/kg, and the domestic price is about 800-900 RMB/kg. While Zoltek (which has been purchased by Toray) from the United States, the international price of 48K large tow carbon fiber is only USD 12-15/kg, while the domestic price is 150 RMB/kg, which is only 20-40% of the price of small tow carbon fiber. The cost of large tow carbon fiber is obviously lower.

Source: 复材应用技术

Translated and edited by: minds:connected