Financial Services Association, May 21 (Reporter Wu Chao) Donghua Energy (002221.SZ) has taken an important step in its transformation to the field of polymer composites. The company announced this evening that the “Donghua Energy 10,000 ton carbon fiber project” invested and built by its wholly-owned subsidiary Donghua Energy (Maoming) Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd. officially started construction on May 21, and plans to build a distributed carbon fiber ecological collaborative development cluster.

According to the announcement, the overall design of the project is an industrial construction project with an annual production capacity of 10,000 tons of high-performance carbon fiber (T800/T1000), which was completed in two phases. After the completion of the second phase of construction, it can achieve an annual production capacity of 8,000 tons of high-performance carbon fiber and 23,840 tons of polyacrylonitrile powder. The overall construction of the project required a construction investment of 2,899 billion yuan, with a total investment of 3.465 billion yuan.

A CFA reporter noticed that this is the first time Donghua Energy has disclosed the details of its major carbon fiber projects. Last year, the company invested in the establishment of Donghua Energy (Maoming) Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd., which is also the operating company for this project; in the next year's business plan for the 2023 report, it is stated that construction of the first phase of the carbon fiber project will commence in due course.

In addition, Donghua Energy has also made a strategic plan and stated that it will develop a carbon fiber-centered composite materials and hydrogen energy industry chain. The company said it is actively promoting research and development of downstream application products with carbon fiber as the core and polyolefin as the base material, covering four major industries, including aerospace and military, low-altitude flight, lightweight automobiles and rail transit, and new building materials.

In terms of capacity planning, the first phase of the project will build 2 new spinning lines and 2 carbonization lines, supporting a 10,000-ton polymerization production line for a two-step process, and supporting the construction of production equipment related to dissolution, recycling, water production, nitrogen generation, power generation, etc. After construction is completed, an annual production capacity of 4,800 tons of high-performance carbon fiber can be achieved. The first phase of the project invested 1,588 billion yuan, with a total investment of 1,786 billion yuan. In addition, the second phase of the project built 2 spinning lines, 2 carbonization lines, and a 30,000 ton polymerization line for a two-step process.

Donghua Energy expects that the first phase of the project will put into operation the first kiloton line in the first half of 2025, and that the first phase of the project will be completed and put into operation in the first half of 2026.

According to reports, the project uses aqueous precipitation polymerization, DMSO dissolution, dry spray wet spinning, and two-step preparation processes to achieve industrial production of T800/T1000 carbon fiber. The technology is advanced and reliable, the device is stable in operation, the production cost is low, the product meets market needs, and is highly competitive in international and domestic markets.

Donghua Energy said the project is a key step for the company to transform and upgrade carbon fiber-centered polymer composites from propane dehydrogenation to downstream. The project is committed to building a national carbon fiber production and research center to serve small and medium-sized enterprises in carbon fiber and composites; building an environmentally friendly ecological application promotion platform for carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites to serve the country's energy saving and consumption reduction strategy; positioning T1000 grade carbon fiber mass production, having independent intellectual property rights, serving the national regional carbon fiber industry, and building a distributed carbon fiber ecological collaborative development cluster.

It is worth noting that Donghua Energy also reminded investors in the announcement that the estimated construction progress and project benefits are only the company's target plans. Due to the originality of the project process, the construction and commissioning time is uncertain, and the market should carefully assess investment risks.

Pan Jun, director of product strategy consulting at Bain Consulting, told reporters that since 2023, the carbon fiber industry has faced an imbalance between supply and demand due to blind expansion of production on the supply side, which may cause the industry to fall into an internal state of internal circulation, which means that the market benefits of related investment layouts face certain risks. However, there is a huge market space for carbon fiber in the future. In particular, domestic carbon fiber has great potential for application in the field of new energy.

“First, the demand for high-performance, lightweight materials in the field of new energy is increasing, and carbon fiber fits this requirement. Second, with the advancement of domestic carbon fiber technology and the reduction of costs, the scope of its application is also constantly expanding. Furthermore, rapid development in the low-altitude economy will also drive an increase in demand for carbon fiber.” Pan Jun said that the development prospects of the domestic carbon fiber industry are still promising.