China beats US, Japan in carbon-fibre arms race to create world’s first T1200 factory

‘Black gold’ fibre deemed transformative for energy and military purposes, EV innovations, medical devices and low-altitude economy

The domestically developed T1200-grade fibre has a tensile strength 10 times greater than ordinary steel, yet it is less than one-tenth of a human hair in diameter, according to the state broadcaster.

Mass production of the ultra-strength fibre at a projected output capacity of about 100 tonnes a year could put China ahead of established market leaders, such as Japan’s Toray Industries, which announced in late 2023 it had developed T1200-grade carbon fibre, but it has not revealed its production capacity.

In the United States, Toray produces grades T1100 and T800 carbon fibre, which are used for projects requiring extra stiffness and strength, as well as T700 for general-purpose applications. The South China Morning Post has contacted Toray for comment.

Using 120,000 carbon-fibre filaments twisted together, the carbon-fibre rope has a diameter of under 2mm when taut. It is strong enough to tow a coach loaded with 54 adults, according to CCTV.

Its developer, the state-owned China National Building Material Group (CNBM), unveiled it at the leading composite materials trade show JEC World in Paris on Wednesday, adding that it could be mass-produced at the hundred-tonne level.

Company chairman Zhou Yuxian said the ultra-high strength carbon fibre with an engineering tensile strength exceeding 8 gigapascals (GPa) was the world’s first T1200-grade carbon-fibre product to achieve mass production, after two decades of local research and development.

“Carbon fibre, hailed as ‘black gold’, is a crucial element in ensuring the security of industrial and supply chains, and serving economic and social development,” he said, according to a social media post by the company.