The 2025 National Science and Technology Awards were announced, with a major breakthrough in the textile chemical fiber sector: the project 'Key Technologies for Green and Intelligent Manufacturing of Polyester Fiber Industry Chain,' led by Tongkun Group and involving ten institutions including Donghua University, won the First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. This is the first time the general fiber field has achieved this honor since carbon fiber technology won in 2017, signaling that China's self-reliance in the chemical fiber industry chain has entered a new phase.
Technological Breakthrough: From 'Industrial Staple' to Green Intelligent System
Polyester fiber is the 'industrial staple' of the textile industry, with China producing 70% of the world's chemical fibers, among which polyester fiber ranks first. The award-winning project has built a complete technology system from green manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing, with core breakthroughs in three areas:
- Green manufacturing: Pioneered a PTA-PET direct coupling low-carbon model, developed environmentally friendly titanium-based catalysts, and established full life cycle green standards.
- Intelligent manufacturing: Achieved domestic substitution of DCS control systems and established an integrated process and quality control system.
- Service-oriented manufacturing: Pioneered a 'multiple heads and tails' series-parallel composite polymerization technology, enabling customized products and agile manufacturing.
The project has formed a complete independent intellectual property system with 76 authorized invention patents, 10 software copyrights, and 14 national and industry standards. An expert panel of academicians assessed the overall technology as reaching the international leading level.
Industry Impact: Over 200 Billion Yuan in Sales and Industry Reshaping
The technology has been implemented in industrial bases in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Xinjiang, and more than ten enterprises, accumulating over 200 billion yuan in new sales, over 10 billion yuan in profits and taxes, and $1.8 billion in export earnings. This means China's polyester fiber industry has taken a substantial step from 'big but not strong' to 'both big and strong.' For downstream buyers, green intelligent manufacturing brings not only cost optimization but also improved product quality consistency and traceability, directly enhancing the international competitiveness of Chinese textiles.
Historically, from 2012 to 2020, the textile sector had 28 national science and technology awards, with 22 in the progress category, but only four first prizes. This award fills the technology gap in the general fiber full chain and provides technical support for the industry to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals and develop new productive forces.
Industry-University-Research Paradigm: Decade-Long Collaboration Between Donghua University and Tongkun Group
The project's first completer, Donghua University researcher Wang Huaping, along with teams including Chinese Academy of Sciences academician Zhu Meifang, deeply participated, collaborating with industry leaders like Tongkun Group over more than a decade. This model of 'university basic research + enterprise engineering transformation' is an effective path for the textile industry to break through key core technologies. Donghua University also won the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award, further highlighting its global influence in fiber materials.
For the industry, this case shows that only by connecting the entire chain from the lab to the production line can technological achievements realize their industrialization value. Tongkun Group's selection as one of the first national 'waste-free enterprise' cases provides a replicable model for the green transformation of chemical fiber enterprises.