A technological achievement covering the entire polyester fiber industry chain has just set a new benchmark for the textile sector in national science awards.
Event Background
The 2025 National Science and Technology Awards were announced, with the 'Key Technologies for Green and Intelligent Manufacturing of the Polyester Fiber Industry Chain' project, led by Tongkun Group in collaboration with Donghua University, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, and seven other units, winning the First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. This is the textile industry's highest honor in general fiber full-chain technology, following previous wins in carbon fiber (2017) and intelligent dyeing (2014).
China produces 70% of the world's chemical fibers, with polyester fiber ranking first among all types. Over the past decade, the industry has won awards in specialized fibers and smart equipment, but a systematic breakthrough in general fiber full-chain technology was lacking. This award signifies a complete technical closure from refining to spinning, from green processes to intelligent control.
Industry Impact
The project, led by Donghua University researcher Wang Huaping, took over a decade of collaborative research. Core breakthroughs focus on three dimensions:
- Green manufacturing: Pioneering a PTA-PET direct coupling low-carbon model, developing eco-friendly titanium-based catalysts, and establishing full lifecycle green standards.
- Intelligent manufacturing: Achieving domestic replacement of DCS control systems and integrated process-quality management.
- Service-oriented manufacturing: Creating a 'multi-head, multi-tail' polymerization platform for modular customization and agile multi-region manufacturing.
To date, the project has formed a complete IP system including 76 authorized invention patents, 10 software copyrights, and 14 national/industry standards. The technology has been verified as internationally leading. It has been implemented in industrial bases in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Xinjiang, and across more than 10 enterprises, generating over 200 billion yuan in new sales, over 10 billion yuan in profits and taxes, and $1.8 billion in export earnings.
For buyers, this means significantly improved supply stability and quality consistency of polyester fibers. Dependence on imported catalysts or key equipment is being replaced, offering downstream fabric and garment companies more controllable raw material costs. For factories, this replicable 'China solution' directly reduces energy consumption and defect rates, providing a ready path for capacity upgrades under the 'dual carbon' goals.
Concurrently, Professor Elsa Reichmanis, Chair of the International Advisory Committee of Donghua University's State Key Laboratory for Advanced Fiber Materials, received the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award of the People's Republic of China. She has long promoted Sino-US tech exchange, deeply involved in joint training and research at Donghua, co-authoring 18 high-level papers and chairing multiple international fiber conferences. This underscores the rising global influence of China's fiber discipline.