A technological achievement covering the entire polyester fiber industry chain is reshaping the competitive logic of China's chemical fiber sector. The 2025 National Science and Technology Progress Award first prize was awarded to the project 'Key Technologies for Green and Intelligent Manufacturing in the Polyester Fiber Industry Chain,' led by Tongkun Group and ten units including Donghua University. This marks the first time in years that the chemical fiber field has topped this highest award, signifying a critical leap from following to leading in the polyester fiber track, which accounts for 70% of global production.
Technological Breakthrough: From Green Manufacturing to Intelligent Integration
The project achieved breakthroughs in three dimensions around polyester fiber, the 'industrial staple grain.' In green manufacturing, the team pioneered a PTA-PET direct-coupling low-carbon model, developing environmentally friendly titanium-based catalysts to replace traditional antimony-based ones, reducing heavy metal pollution from the source. In intelligent manufacturing, the DCS control system achieved large-scale domestic substitution, and the process-quality integrated management system is now replicable. The service-oriented manufacturing dimension has the greatest industrial impact: the 'one-head, three-tail' series-parallel composite polymerization technology platform enables modular customization and cross-regional collaborative production of differentiated polyester fibers, directly addressing downstream fabric manufacturers' urgent need for small batches, variety, and fast delivery.
To date, the project has formed a complete independent intellectual property system including 76 authorized invention patents, 10 software copyrights, and 14 national and industry standards, evaluated by an academician expert group as reaching internationally leading levels. The technology has been implemented in over 10 units in industrial belts such as Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Xinjiang, with cumulative new sales exceeding 200 billion yuan, profits and taxes over 10 billion yuan, and export earnings of 1.8 billion US dollars. For buyers, this means systematic assurance of supply stability, quality consistency, and environmental compliance for polyester fibers.
Industrial Impact: Independent Technology System and Global Voice
China, accounting for 70% of global chemical fiber production, previously faced the pain point of being 'big but not strong' in polyester fiber technology—upstream catalysts and oils were heavily imported, and domestic substitution of intelligent equipment was insufficient. This award-winning project fully opens the autonomous technology path from raw materials to finished products. Particularly noteworthy is its 'service-oriented manufacturing' model. Traditional polyester fiber production is 'large-scale, few varieties,' but current fast fashion and home textile customization demand supply chain flexibility. The project's 'multi-head, multi-tail' platform allows the same polymerization unit to produce fibers of different specifications simultaneously, significantly reducing changeover time and energy consumption.
Meanwhile, Professor Elsa Reichmanis, International Advisory Committee Chair of Donghua University's State Key Laboratory for Advanced Fiber Materials, received the People's Republic of China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award. This three-time US academician has long promoted Sino-US cooperation in fiber materials, with many trained talents selected for national talent programs. This award signifies that China's textile discipline's international cooperation network is shifting from 'introducing in' to 'two-way empowerment,' offering long-term strategic value for domestic companies to access cutting-edge material information and participate in international standard-setting.