The 2025 National Science and Technology Progress Award (First Class) was awarded to the 'Key Technologies for Green and Intelligent Manufacturing of the Polyester Fiber Industry Chain' project, led by Tongkun Group and Donghua University. This is not an isolated scientific recognition but a milestone marking the shift of China's chemical fiber industry from scale advantage to technological dominance. The project, involving ten institutions including Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, built a complete independent technology moat for polyester fiber—the 'industrial staple'—covering green manufacturing, intelligent production, and service-oriented manufacturing.
Industrial Self-Reliance: From Follower to Standard Setter
Polyester fiber accounts for the largest share of China's chemical fiber output, which itself represents 70% of global production. Despite this volume, the sector long relied on imported catalysts, lacked green manufacturing standards, and was constrained by foreign intelligent equipment. The award-winning project broke this dependency by pioneering a PTA-PET direct-coupled low-carbon manufacturing model and developing eco-friendly titanium-based catalysts. This means downstream fabric buyers can now access more stable, low-carbon domestic alternatives, reducing vulnerability to global chemical supply shocks.
The project's outcomes have been deployed across key industrial clusters in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Xinjiang, generating cumulative new sales of over 200 billion yuan, profits and taxes exceeding 10 billion yuan, and export earnings of $1.8 billion. Behind these figures lies a capacity upgrade: as DCS control systems achieve large-scale domestic substitution, the cost of intelligent retrofitting for medium and small factories will drop significantly, lowering defect rates and energy consumption across the industry.
Green and Smart: A Dual-Driven Industry Restructuring
A critical move in the green dimension is the establishment of a full-lifecycle green standard for polyester fiber. With the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) entering its transitional phase, carbon footprint accounting has become a must for exports. Owning an independent green standard allows Chinese polyester firms to negotiate international carbon rules rather than passively accept buyer-defined frameworks. Tongkun Group's inclusion in China's first batch of 'Zero-Waste Enterprise' cases shows that low-carbon transition is becoming a brand asset, not just a cost.
On the smart manufacturing front, the project's 'multi-head, multi-tail' series-parallel polymerization platform enables modular customization of differentiated polyester products. For buyers, this means greater supply flexibility—rapid switching between standard POY/FDY and high-value functional yarns on the same line, shortening lead times. For factories, the integrated quality-control smart system reduces reliance on skilled labor, a direct competitive edge amid rising labor costs.
R&D Paradigm: From Single Breakthroughs to Ecosystem Synergy
Notably, Donghua University simultaneously received both the National Science and Technology Progress Award (First Class) and the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award. Professor Elsa Reichmanis, who has collaborated with Donghua's State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials since 2013, has helped train multiple national talent program recipients. This model—domestic industry leaders driving application, universities providing fundamental research, and international experts contributing global insight—is replacing the old 'import-digest-absorb' path with original technology output.
Historically, textile-related National Science and Technology Progress Awards (First Class) have focused on specialty fibers or single process links, such as the 2017 carbon fiber project or the 2014 digital dyeing equipment. This polyester fiber chain award marks a leap in a general-purpose commodity, meaning future technology dividends will permeate everyday production: cheaper green raw materials, more reliable smart equipment, and transparent carbon footprint data.