The top national science award list has once again highlighted the textile and chemical fiber industry. The 2025 National Science and Technology Progress Award (First Prize) was granted to the project 'Key Technologies for Green and Intelligent Manufacturing of Polyester Fiber Industry Chain,' led by Tongkun Group in collaboration with ten institutions including Donghua University, after over a decade of collaborative research. This achievement marks not just a corporate technological victory but a systemic leap for China's entire polyester fiber chain from 'following' to 'leading.'
Background
Polyester fiber, the 'staple food' of the textile industry, accounts for over 70% of global chemical fiber production. While the industry had previously won first prizes in niche areas like carbon fiber and intelligent dyeing, a systematic breakthrough in the general fiber chain was lacking. This project fills that gap, covering the entire chain from raw material (PTA) to polymerization, spinning, texturing, and final products, rather than optimizing a single link.
The core technology system comprises three dimensions: green manufacturing (pioneering a direct PTA-PET low-carbon model and developing environmentally friendly titanium-based catalysts to replace traditional antimony catalysts), smart manufacturing (upgrading full-process automation and achieving domestic substitution of DCS control systems), and service-oriented manufacturing (using a 'multi-head, multi-tail' polymerization platform for modular, digital customization of differentiated products). This 'trinity' architecture has formed a complete IP moat with 76 invention patents and 14 national/industry standards.
Industrial Impact
For upstream raw material suppliers, the most direct value is reduced dependence on foreign catalysts and oil agents. The industrial application of titanium-based catalysts will break the previous environmental-cost dilemma of antimony catalysts, accelerating the industry's green transition. For midstream chemical fiber enterprises, the project's results have been implemented in over 10 units across industrial bases in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Xinjiang, generating cumulative new sales of over 200 billion yuan, profits/taxes over 10 billion yuan, and export earnings of $1.8 billion. This proves the technology is not a lab product but a scalable, replicable 'China solution.'
More notably, the downstream impact on textile and garment buyers is significant. The green and intelligent upgrade of polyester fiber will directly bring two changes: first, improved product quality stability—DCS systems and integrated process control drastically reduce defect rates, alleviating issues like batch-to-batch color variation and strength fluctuations; second, enhanced customization capability—the 'multi-head, multi-tail' platform enables flexible production of small batches and multiple varieties, allowing brands to design without being constrained by minimum order quantities.
Additionally, the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award given to Professor Elsa Reichmanis, a collaborator of Donghua University, sends a clear signal: China's textile industry remains open to global cooperation while pursuing independent innovation. The three-time U.S. national academy member's deep expertise in semiconductor materials has created interdisciplinary synergy with Donghua's fiber research. Their 18 high-level co-published papers and jointly trained national-level talents have built long-term intellectual resources for the industry.