A technological achievement covering the entire polyester fiber industry chain has won the First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2025. This marks the latest recognition for the textile and chemical fiber sector, following breakthroughs in carbon fiber and automated dyeing. Unlike previous honors focused on single materials or equipment, this project targets full-chain autonomy of general fibers from raw materials to end products.
Core Logic of the Breakthrough: From 'Industrial Staple' to System Integration
Polyester fiber accounts for the largest share of China's chemical fiber output, with the country producing 70% of the global total. Upgrades in this segment directly impact downstream costs and quality in fabrics, apparel, and home textiles. The awarded project, 'Key Technologies for Green and Intelligent Manufacturing of Polyester Fiber Industry Chain,' was led by Tongkun Group and jointly completed by ten institutions including Donghua University and Zhejiang Sci-Tech University. It covers three dimensions: PTA-PET direct-coupled low-carbon manufacturing, full-process automation equipment localization, and a 'multi-head multi-tail' flexible polymerization platform.
What does this mean? For buyers and factories, system autonomy ensures stable raw material supply, lower energy consumption, and greater product differentiation. The project has generated 76 invention patents, 10 software copyrights, and 14 national and industry standards, recognized by expert panels as internationally leading. After deployment in industrial bases across Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Xinjiang, cumulative new sales exceeded 200 billion RMB, with profits and taxes over 10 billion RMB and export earnings of 1.8 billion USD, while significantly reducing energy use and defect rates.
Deeper Industry Impact: From Scale Dividends to Technology Dividends
Over the past decade, the textile industry has repeatedly won national science awards—such as the 2014 automated digital dyeing and the 2017 carbon fiber industrialization. But this First Prize, landing on the largest and most competitive segment of polyester fiber, sends a clear signal: policy and capital are shifting from encouraging capacity expansion to supporting system-level technological innovation.
For chemical fiber companies, the era of relying solely on scale for cost reduction is narrowing. Tongkun Group, the project leader, has been selected as a national 'Zero-Waste Enterprise' example and a national service-oriented manufacturing model. This suggests future competition will revolve around green standards, smart manufacturing levels, and service capabilities. Factories should assess the feasibility of localized DCS control systems and the adaptability of modular process platforms for multi-variety, small-batch orders.
Hidden Value of International Collaboration: Talent and Discipline Linkage
Simultaneously, the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award was granted to Professor Elsa Reichmanis, chair of the International Advisory Committee of Donghua University's State Key Laboratory for Advanced Fiber Materials. A U.S. triple academician, she has long promoted Sino-U.S. scientific exchanges, co-trained multiple national-level talents with Donghua, and chaired several international fiber conferences.
For the industry, this award underscores that China's textile innovation is not closed but embedded in global academic networks. For foreign trade companies, deep involvement of top international scholars boosts China's voice in frontier fiber materials, helping meet overseas demands for green certification and process transparency.