As a key implementation vehicle for Sinopec's carbon fiber localization strategy, Shanghai Petrochemical's 30,000-ton-per-year large-tow carbon fiber project in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, successfully completed its Phase I commissioning and produced industrial-grade products on May 9th. Leveraging its proprietary technology and the region's abundant green energy resources, the project breaks through the traditional constraints of high energy consumption and high costs in carbon fiber production. With a single-line production line design exceeding 3,000 tons, it propels my country's 48K large-tow carbon fiber from technological localization to a new stage of low-cost industrialization and regional clustering. This project serves as a benchmark for domestic energy and chemical companies to achieve cost reduction, carbon reduction, and capacity expansion in the new materials industry through cross-regional resource complementarity.
Breakthrough in Process Iteration: Domestic Equipment and Process Optimization Achieve Leapfrog Upgrade in Single-Line Capacity
The first phase of the project, now operational, includes two 48K large-tow carbon fiber production lines. The remaining eight lines are planned for the second phase, with a total capacity of 30,000 tons expected by the end of 2027. The project's core competitiveness is rooted in Shanghai Petrochemical's over ten years of accumulated experience in large-tow carbon fiber technology iteration: building upon the mature process of China's first fully domestically produced 48K carbon fiber production line in 2022, the R&D team continuously optimized the process parameters across the entire chain, from raw material spinning and carbonization to surface treatment. This resulted in a 50% increase in single-line capacity compared to the initial generation of equipment, and 100% domestic coverage of key production equipment, completely eliminating reliance on overseas procurement of high-end carbon fiber core equipment.
In terms of project construction efficiency, the project took only 188 days from commencement to mechanical completion, setting a new low for construction time for large-tow carbon fiber plants of the same specifications in China. The shortened construction cycle reflects Shanghai Petrochemical's mature modular application capabilities and leverages Sinopec's advantages in full-industry chain engineering construction and supply chain support systems. This significantly shortens the implementation cycle of new material projects, accelerates the release of domestically produced large-tow carbon fiber production capacity, and offsets the import supply of overseas carbon fiber products.
Large-tow (≥48K) and aerospace-grade small-tow carbon fiber represent two differentiated technological routes: small-tow focuses on high-value-added niche markets such as military and high-end equipment, requiring sophisticated processes and incurring higher production costs; while 48K/60K large-tow, with its advantages of large-scale mass production, is suitable for large-scale industrial applications such as wind turbine blades, rail transportation, and civilian composite materials, making it a key raw material for cost reduction and efficiency improvement in wind power. Shanghai Petrochemical has now formed a product matrix of nearly 20 grades across multiple specifications (24K, 48K, 60K), with its self-developed 60K large-tow product filling a domestic gap, meeting the material needs of deep-sea high-power wind turbine blades, and perfecting the tiered layout of domestically produced carbon fiber products.
Cross-Regional Resource Allocation: Leveraging Inner Mongolia's Green Energy Resources to Create a New Low-Carbon Carbon Fiber Production Model
Traditional carbon fiber carbonization is a high-energy-consuming process, with electricity costs consistently accounting for over 30% of the production cost of large-tow carbon fiber. This is a core pain point hindering the large-scale mass production and market substitution of imported carbon fiber in China. The core logic behind this project's location in Ordos is Shanghai Petrochemical's cross-regional industrial synergy model, combining Yangtze River Delta technology with Inner Mongolia's green energy resources. Utilizing local wind and solar renewable energy resources, the project achieves a green energy utilization rate exceeding 60%, with each production line capable of reducing carbon emissions by 20,000 tons annually, equivalent to planting 1.25 million trees. This addresses the high carbon emission pain point of the carbon fiber industry from the source of production.
This model breaks away from the traditional mindset of refining and chemical enterprises building plants locally. By transferring technology to resource-rich regions, it achieves a reduction in production costs. The energy and cost advantages brought by green electricity replacing thermal power will continuously narrow the price gap between domestically produced large-tow carbon fiber and similar products from Japan, South Korea, Europe, and the United States, further enhancing the price competitiveness of domestic carbon fiber in the global wind power raw material market.
Diversified Capital Investment to Build a Closed-Loop Industrial Ecosystem of "Green Electricity - Carbon Fiber - Wind Power Application" The project adopts a diversified equity cooperation mechanism, introducing capital from multiple parties including Sinopec, Dongfang Electric, Wushen Banner State-owned Investment Group, and CCB Investment to jointly increase investment and construction. This achieves deep integration of technology providers, end-users, local state-owned assets, and industrial capital, removing obstacles to industrial development from the capital side.
On the technology front: Shanghai Petrochemical provides a complete set of patented processes and production management experience, solidifying the technological barriers of its products. As of the end of 2025, Sinopec had applied for 868 patents in the field of carbon fiber and composite materials, with 417 granted and 4 PCT international patents. Its patent reserves lead domestically and rank third globally, providing a technological foundation for product iteration.
On the downstream application front: Leading turbine manufacturers such as Dongfang Wind Power have invested heavily, simultaneously attracting downstream supporting enterprises in carbon fiber, such as pultruded sheet metal, to settle in Ordos, absorbing carbon fiber production capacity locally and mitigating the risk of insufficient sales channels after new materials are put into production.
On the local front: Wushen Banner State-owned Investment Group leverages local policies, land, and new energy quota resources to facilitate its establishment; industrial capital provides long-term, low-cost funding, alleviating the pressure of large-scale fixed asset investment.
Through multi-party collaboration, a closed-loop industrial chain has been established in Ordos, encompassing wind and solar green power supply, low-cost large-tow carbon fiber manufacturing, wind turbine blade composite material processing, and wind turbine manufacturing. This overcomes the common problems in the domestic carbon fiber industry, such as "fragmented production and application, and dispersed upstream and downstream operations," and creates a regional carbon fiber industrial cluster.
Strategic Significance: Strengthening my country's Independent Supply Chain for Large-Tow Carbon Fiber and Accelerating the Localization of Wind Power Substitution
Sinopec is the first domestic and fourth globally to master the complete core processes for large-tow carbon fiber, and the first globally to achieve commercial mass production of 48K large-tow carbon fiber of T700 grade and above. The company completed the 48K large-tow technology breakthrough in 2018, the first domestic production line was established at its Shanghai headquarters in 2022, and the low-cost base in Inner Mongolia began phased production in 2026. These three development milestones comprehensively outline the domestic production process of large-tow carbon fiber, from technological breakthroughs to small-scale industrialization and then to large-scale, low-cost mass production.
Against the backdrop of the global trend towards larger-scale wind power and the rapid expansion of deep-sea wind turbine units, the demand for 48K/60K large-tow carbon fiber in high-power wind turbine blades continues to rise. Previously, China relied heavily on imports for high-end large-tow carbon fiber, resulting in external constraints on the industrial chain and supply chain. Once the Shanghai Petrochemical 30,000-ton Inner Mongolia project is fully operational, it will significantly expand the effective production capacity of large-tow carbon fiber in China. On the one hand, this will reduce the dependence of domestic wind turbine manufacturers on imported raw materials, promoting self-reliance and control over the entire wind power industry chain. On the other hand, leveraging low-cost green energy production capacity, it will accelerate the market substitution of imported carbon fiber, supporting the cost reduction and overseas expansion of the domestic wind power industry.
In the long run, this project is a key initiative for Sinopec to implement its transformation strategy of "from refining to chemicals, and from chemicals to new materials." By replicating Shanghai Petrochemical's original carbon fiber technology across regions, it will explore an industrialization path for traditional petrochemical enterprises to transform into high-end new materials and low-carbon manufacturing, providing a replicable industrial development paradigm for domestic refining and chemical enterprises to develop high-performance new materials.
