Strength Exceeds 8,000 MPa: China National Building Material Group Takes the Lead in Achieving Mass Production of T1200-Grade Carbon Fiber

Recently, China’s new materials sector has achieved a milestone breakthrough. On March 11, coinciding with the successful convening of the Two Sessions and the joint formulation of the grand blueprint for the 15th Five-Year Plan, China National Building Material Group held a global launch event for SYT80 (T1200-grade) ultra-high-strength carbon fiber simultaneously at its Beijing headquarters and at the JEC World exhibition in Paris, France. This marks Zhongfu Shenying, a subsidiary of the Group, as the world’s first company to achieve engineering-scale mass production of carbon fiber at this grade. The realization of this achievement is also a vivid demonstration of how China’s new materials industry is leveraging technological innovation to drive industrial transformation and accelerate the development of new-quality productive forces.

The strongest material on Earth:

From a “luxury” in the laboratory to a “common” industrial commodity

SYT80 (T1200 grade), an ultra-high-strength carbon fiber, is hailed as the “lightest and strongest material on Earth to an almost unbelievable degree.” Its fiber diameter is only one-tenth that of a human hair, its tensile strength exceeds 8,000 MPa—ten times that of conventional steel—while its density is just one-quarter that of steel. This material boasts an exceptionally broad range of applications, spanning national strategic security domains such as deep-sea, deep-space, and deep-Earth exploration, as well as critical infrastructure and everyday life sectors including high-speed rail, commercial spaceflight, new energy, humanoid robotics, the low-altitude economy, medical devices, and sports.

In his address at the press conference, Zhou Yuxian, Chairman of China National Building Material Group, stated that the Group has consistently regarded technological innovation as its “top priority,” vigorously developing strategic emerging industry clusters such as high-performance fibers and their composites, broad-spectrum semiconductor materials, new glass materials, and ceramic crystalline materials. Among these, carbon fiber—often hailed as “black gold”—represents a critical leverage point for safeguarding the security of industrial and supply chains and supporting economic and social development. This major breakthrough signifies that China has achieved end-to-end, independently controllable capabilities in the high-performance carbon fiber sector, spanning from technology and equipment to laboratory-scale research and ultimately to large-scale engineering production.

After two decades of dedicated effort, Zhongfu Shenying has not only answered the question of “whether such materials exist,” but has also addressed the critical challenges of “affordability and performance.” Chen Qiufei, General Manager of Zhongfu Shenying and head of SYT80 carbon fiber R&D, provided a detailed overview of the product’s technological advantages and broad application prospects. He emphasized that the achievement of large-scale, hundred-ton production marks a pivotal shift: this cutting-edge new material will no longer be a laboratory curiosity or a luxury item, but rather a mainstream, widely used commodity that supports global economic development. Its unprecedentedly low density and ultra-high strength enable the creation of lighter, stronger “wings” for critical national projects in aerospace and other high-tech fields, making domestically produced large aircraft lighter and safer, boosting the efficiency of space launch vehicles, and pushing the frontiers of deep-space exploration even further. At the same time, these exceptional properties provide more reliable structural support for emerging industries such as hydrogen storage and transportation, the low-altitude economy, and embodied intelligence, resulting in longer-range electric vehicles, lighter and more durable medical devices, and higher-performance sports equipment—thereby laying a robust materials foundation for global economic growth and a better quality of life for people around the world.

Beijing Main Venue of the Launch Ceremony

Approaching the Extreme:

The “Sub-Nanometer” Campaign Behind SYT80

The breakthrough in SYT80 carbon fiber did not happen overnight. Building on the well-established and stable SYT70 (T1100-grade) carbon fiber as a solid foundation, Chen Qiufei’s team at Zhongfu Shenying has set its sights on overcoming the technological bottlenecks in China’s high-end carbon fiber production, relentlessly striving to achieve even better performance and higher strength.

Leveraging a mature R&D system and an extensive body of experimental data accumulated across the SYT45 to SYT70 grades—covering tensile strengths from 4,500 to 7,000 MPa—the team has made carbon-fiber defect analysis the cornerstone of its breakthroughs. Building on research into defect characterization and root-cause tracing for SYT70-grade carbon fibers, the team has focused intensively on every stage of the production process, including precursor filament preparation, carbonization, and surface treatment. Through high-precision inspection and microstructural analysis, they precisely identify the mechanisms underlying even the tiniest defects and elucidate their impact patterns. From defect classification and suppression to complete elimination, the team continuously refines process parameters and innovates manufacturing pathways, meticulously honing every detail with an unwavering commitment to rigor.

Building on the technological expertise accumulated in the engineering-scale production of SYT70 (T1100-grade) ultra-high-strength carbon fiber, the technical team has continued to focus on sub-micron, nano-, and sub-nano-scale defects, upgrading equipment precision, optimizing process parameters, and innovating molecular structure design to exhaust all possible measures for minimizing defect formation in carbon fibers. The requirements of this manufacturing process are exceedingly stringent; the team is fully aware that only stable process operation can ensure the successful translation of laboratory breakthroughs into practical applications.

The World’s First SYT80 Carbon Fiber Engineering-Scale Mass Production Line

To achieve an early breakthrough in the R&D of domestically produced T1200-grade carbon fiber, team members have worked around the clock, steadfastly holding their posts and devoting themselves wholeheartedly to research, development, and debugging, with laboratory lights burning through the night year after year. Focusing on technical challenges, they have engaged in repeated, vigorous discussions and debates, distilling collective wisdom through countless iterations of design validation, testing and verification, and data review—ultimately reaping abundant rewards through relentless effort.

Twenty years of sharpening the sword:

Forging New Heights in Domestic Carbon Fiber with “Artisan Spirit”

In 2006, Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd. was officially established as the core enterprise of the new materials business segment under China National Building Material Group. Over the past two decades, this national high-tech enterprise—integrating R&D, production, and sales of carbon fiber and its composite materials—has consistently remained at the forefront of breakthroughs in carbon fiber technology.

The company has established production bases in Lianyungang and Xining, as well as an R&D center in Shanghai, with production capacity ranking among the top in China. It has not only achieved kiloton-scale production of high-performance T700 and T800-grade carbon fibers but has also successfully mastered mass-production technology for T1100-grade carbon fibers. In 2017, the company, as the primary completing unit, was awarded the First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. By the end of 2021, the company’s 10,000-ton carbon fiber project in Xining was selected as one of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission’s Top Ten Super Projects among central state-owned enterprises. Furthermore, by the end of 2025, the successful breakthrough in laboratory-scale SYT80 (T1200-grade) ultra-high-strength carbon fiber technology marked China’s domestically produced carbon fibers’ entry into the ranks of internationally advanced levels.

Over the past three years, the company has achieved a series of breakthroughs in technology: it has developed ultra-high-temperature graphitization technology and launched the world’s first dry-jet-wet-spun M65J high-modulus carbon fiber; it has also introduced the world’s first high-strength, high-modulus, and high-toughness carbon fibers, including SYM55X and SYM50X, thereby taking a leading position in niche markets; furthermore, it has made breakthroughs in key technologies such as large-tow precursor yarn production and homogeneous pre-oxidation/carbonization, and has developed the world’s first dry-jet-wet-spun high-performance 48K large-tow carbon fiber.

In terms of application areas, Zhongfu Shenying has achieved leapfrog development in specialized fields. In the aerospace sector, the company now provides complete coverage of shell components for all four major commercial solid-propellant rocket engines, with a market share of 90%. The civil market is also advancing at a high pace: the Y603H component for the C929 small-wing program has received pre-approval under COMAC’s PCD process; strategic partnerships have been established with industry leaders such as Goldwind Technology, Beijing Tianhai, and LONGi Green Energy; and through close collaboration with Zhongfu Carbon Core and China National Materials Blade within the Group, a “carbon fiber–pultruded panel–wind turbine blade” industrial chain has been built, resulting in the development of the versatile SYT55T-16K industrial-grade product, which has reduced costs by nearly 40%; meanwhile, the company maintains a market share of over 75% in the pressure vessel segment. In addition, Zhongfu Shenying has jointly developed the SYT70 carbon-fiber racing shoe with Xtep, capturing a foothold in the high-end sports equipment market; furthermore, its SYT45S carbon fiber has been deployed in the world’s largest 26 MW offshore wind turbine, which has now been connected to the grid and begun generating power.

In emerging fields, Zhongfu Shenying has already made forward-looking strategic deployments. In the low-altitude economy sector, it has established a complete value chain spanning from basic materials to application validation; some of its products have already obtained airworthiness certification from leading enterprises and have entered the stage of mass production and deployment. In the field of embodied intelligence, by signing cooperation framework agreements with industry-leading companies, the company is focusing on cutting-edge areas such as humanoid robots and embodied intelligent equipment, working jointly to promote the large-scale application of domestically produced carbon fiber in future industries.

From the T1100 to the T1200, this evolution represents not only a leap in strength—from 7,000 MPa to 8,000 MPa—but also a quantum leap in performance and a profound refinement of technology. It is a vivid testament to the dedication and relentless pursuit of excellence by China’s indigenous carbon-fiber R&D team, as they overcome formidable challenges with painstaking craftsmanship and fulfill their mission through selfless commitment and unwavering perseverance. Marking the 20th anniversary of its founding, Zhongfu Shenying will continue to uphold its spirit of tackling tough problems head-on, boldly scaling new heights in the development of high-performance carbon fibers, so that more “lightweight yet ultra-strong” Chinese materials can find their way into the homes of ordinary people. Looking ahead, Zhongfu Shenying will remain committed to delivering quality that stands the test of time, safeguarding national strategic security, enhancing the quality of life for the general public, and forging new frontiers in China’s high-end carbon-fiber industry through practical action and unwavering focus.