ID :
188345
Tue, 06/14/2011 - 07:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/188345
The shortlink copeid
S. Korean firm develops high-strength carbon fiber
SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap) -- Hyosung Corp., a South Korean maker of industrial chemicals and power systems, said Tuesday that it has developed an indigenous technology to make high tensile strength carbon fiber to meet both domestic and foreign demand.
The company said it will spend 250 billion won (US$231 million) until 2013 to set up a production plant in the southern city of Jeonju, about 243 kilometers south of Seoul. When completed, the plant will have an annual capacity of 2,000 tons.
Hyosung said an additional 950 billion won will be injected into the plant until 2020 to increase output to 17,000 tons.
Developed after three years of research, the T-700 carbon fiber is 10 times stronger than steel but only 20 percent its weight. It can be used in the building of airplanes, spaceships, sports equipment, cars and wind power generators. South Korean laboratories developed lower grade T-300 type fibers, but never moved to manufacture them commercially.
"The new plant is noteworthy because it marks the first time that South Korea will make its own carbon fiber," the company said. "It will be a 'full-line' manufacturing facility that makes everything from the basic building material called 'precursors' to the final fiber product."
At present, the country imports the 2,400 tons of carbon fiber it uses from companies in Japan and the United States that have effectively controlled the technology to make the high-tech fibers.
It said products to be built will be sold to both local and foreign customers, with the plant to enable Hyosung to make inroads into the rapidly expanding carbon fiber market.
As of 2011, the global market for high-grade carbon fibers stood at 50,000 tons or $2 billion with demand expected to rise an average of 11 percent annually to top $5 billion by 2020.
Hyosung said it aims to become a leading player in the global carbon fiber business field in the next decade and expects to create 1,000 new jobs that can contribute to the growth of the local economy.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)
The company said it will spend 250 billion won (US$231 million) until 2013 to set up a production plant in the southern city of Jeonju, about 243 kilometers south of Seoul. When completed, the plant will have an annual capacity of 2,000 tons.
Hyosung said an additional 950 billion won will be injected into the plant until 2020 to increase output to 17,000 tons.
Developed after three years of research, the T-700 carbon fiber is 10 times stronger than steel but only 20 percent its weight. It can be used in the building of airplanes, spaceships, sports equipment, cars and wind power generators. South Korean laboratories developed lower grade T-300 type fibers, but never moved to manufacture them commercially.
"The new plant is noteworthy because it marks the first time that South Korea will make its own carbon fiber," the company said. "It will be a 'full-line' manufacturing facility that makes everything from the basic building material called 'precursors' to the final fiber product."
At present, the country imports the 2,400 tons of carbon fiber it uses from companies in Japan and the United States that have effectively controlled the technology to make the high-tech fibers.
It said products to be built will be sold to both local and foreign customers, with the plant to enable Hyosung to make inroads into the rapidly expanding carbon fiber market.
As of 2011, the global market for high-grade carbon fibers stood at 50,000 tons or $2 billion with demand expected to rise an average of 11 percent annually to top $5 billion by 2020.
Hyosung said it aims to become a leading player in the global carbon fiber business field in the next decade and expects to create 1,000 new jobs that can contribute to the growth of the local economy.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)
