Japanese companies increase investment in high-end carbon fiber materials

Japanese media reported that various chemical fiber companies in Japan have developed high-end new materials and continue to expand their global market share. In recent years, with the rapid development of Chinese and South Korean companies and technological advancement, the high-end new materials industry has experienced fierce competition. How to seize the opportunities in the competition, occupy the market, and continue to expand the advantages has become a major issue.

Mitsubishi Plastics plans to cooperate with Mitsubishi REIYON to invest approximately JPY 5 billion. It will use 2-3 years to develop new materials for wind turbine blades. By 2015, the production capacity of carbon fiber in the Kagawa Plant will be 1,000 per year. Ton increased by 50%; Toray Group plans to develop new materials capable of removing radioactive materials; Nitto Denko plans to cooperate with Norwegian electric power company to study technologies that use the pressure generated by salt and freshwater salt concentration changes to produce electricity; Asahi Glass is developing applications Special glass fibers on the surface of solar cells; Japan Electric Glass plans to develop glass fibers for lithium batteries.

Carbon fiber is a representative product of high-end new materials. In 2010, the global demand was 30,000 tons, which is 2 times that of 2000. High-end new materials are mainly used in high-tech industries such as smart phones, environmental protection vehicles, water treatment equipment, and metal glass. In this field, Japanese companies have maintained a 5-7 percent market share.