China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) Shanghai Petrochemical, in collaboration with the Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical Technology (SRIPT), has successfully overcome core technologies for wet-spun T1000 high-performance carbon fiber and realized its mass production. This milestone breakthrough consolidates SINOPEC’s leading position in the high-performance carbon fiber industry. The material can be widely applied in cutting-edge and future industries including aerospace, embodied intelligence and low-altitude economy, providing core strategic new material support for the development of China’s critical sectors.
Carbon fiber boasts extraordinary comprehensive properties and is hailed as the “King of New Materials” and “Black Gold”. Its density is less than one quarter of steel, while its tensile strength is 7 to 9 times higher than steel, coupled with outstanding corrosion resistance. Carbon fiber is classified into large-tow and small-tow products by tow size, where “K” represents the number of monofilaments (1K = 1,000 monofilaments).
The letter “T” denotes tensile strength grade; a higher numerical value corresponds to greater tensile strength.
The mass-produced high-performance carbon fiber developed by Shanghai Petrochemical is 12K small-tow grade, meaning each tow consists of 12,000 monofilaments. The diameter of a single filament is merely one tenth of a human hair, yet it delivers exceptional mechanical performance. The single tow boasts tensile strength exceeding 6.5 GPa and tensile modulus above 300 GPa — strong enough to pull a medium truck weighing roughly 10 tons.
This technological advancement further enriches and improves SINOPEC’s full carbon fiber product portfolio. The mass production of T1000 small-tow carbon fiber forms complementary strategic advantages with the Group’s large-tow carbon fiber series, completing a more comprehensive product system. At present, SINOPEC has established manufacturing capacity for nearly 20 carbon fiber grades covering tow specifications of 3K, 6K, 12K, 24K, 48K and 60K, ranging from general-purpose to ultra-high-performance levels. The products cater to diverse fields including aerospace, high-end equipment manufacturing, wind power, transportation and sports & leisure goods. By the end of 2025, SINOPEC had filed 868 patents in carbon fiber and composite materials, ranking No.1 in China and No.3 globally. Among these applications, 417 patents have been granted and 4 PCT international applications completed.
SINOPEC is the first enterprise in China and the fourth worldwide to master core large-tow carbon fiber technologies.
While continuously advancing industrialization of large-tow carbon fiber, Shanghai Petrochemical pushed forward R&D on core technologies for higher-performance small-tow carbon fiber:
Since the start of this year, through persistent technical research, equipment upgrading and process optimization, the R&D team has resolved bottlenecks including precursor filament performance and internal microscopic defects, ultimately achieving stable mass production of wet-spun T1000 high-performance carbon fiber.
