The 2025 National Science and Technology Awards were announced, with the textile and chemical fiber sector securing two major honors. The 'Key Technologies for Green and Intelligent Manufacturing of the Polyester Fiber Industry Chain' project, led by Tongkun Group as the primary completer and involving ten institutions including Donghua University and Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, won the First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. Concurrently, Professor Elsa Reichmanis, Chair of the International Advisory Committee 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 marks a historic breakthrough for the textile chemical fiber industry in the full-chain technology of general-purpose fibers. Polyester fiber is the 'industrial staple' of the textile industry, with China accounting for 70% of global chemical fiber production, of which polyester fiber ranks first. The success of this project means that from raw materials to end products, from green manufacturing to intelligent control, China has built a self-reliant and controllable technology system, no longer dependent on external technology inputs.
A Decade of Collaboration: Three Core Technological Breakthroughs
The project, led by Donghua University researcher Wang Huaping as the first completer, with deep involvement from academician Zhu Meifang and other Donghua research teams, was completed in collaboration with Tongkun Group and other industry leaders and multiple research institutions. It addresses major strategic needs for the security and international competitiveness of China's polyester fiber industry chain, achieved through over a decade of collaborative industry-university-research efforts. The project leverages the talent and resource advantages of Donghua University's State Key Laboratory for Advanced Fiber Materials and its first-class discipline of Materials Science and Engineering, integrating multidisciplinary forces from materials science, textile technology, information intelligence, and mechanical engineering to achieve three core technological breakthroughs.
In green manufacturing, the project pioneered a PTA-PET direct-coupled low-carbon manufacturing model, innovatively developed environmentally friendly titanium-based catalysts and engineering application technologies, invented crude oil-based chemical fiber oils and green oiling technologies, and established a full lifecycle green standard for polyester fibers, opening a complete path for low-carbon production. In intelligent manufacturing, it completed full-process automation equipment upgrades, achieved large-scale domestic substitution of DCS control systems, and established an intelligent manufacturing system integrating process and quality control, forming a replicable and scalable 'China solution' for industrial upgrading. In service-oriented manufacturing, it pioneered a 'multi-head multi-tail' series-parallel composite polymerization technology platform, creating a 'one head, three tails' multi-point addition modular digital linkage system for polymerization, spinning, and texturing processes, enabling specialized customization of differentiated polyester fiber products and multi-region collaborative agile manufacturing, driving deep integration of manufacturing and services.
To date, the project has formed a complete independent intellectual property system including 76 granted invention patents, 10 software copyrights, and 14 national and industry standards, and has won five provincial and ministerial first prizes for scientific and technological progress. Expert panels identified the overall technology as reaching international leading level.
Industrial Deployment: Over 200 Billion Yuan in New Sales
The results have been deployed in industrial bases across Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Xinjiang, and at over ten industry enterprises, generating cumulative new sales exceeding 200 billion yuan, profits and taxes over 10 billion yuan, and export earnings of 1.8 billion US dollars, significantly reducing industry energy consumption and defect rates. As the project lead, Tongkun Group has leveraged the project's demonstration effect to be selected as one of the first national 'Zero-Waste Enterprise' typical cases, and was recognized as a 'National Service-oriented Manufacturing Demonstration Enterprise' and 'National Excellent Intelligent Manufacturing Demonstration Factory'.
Behind these figures lies the substantial impact of polyester fiber industry upgrading on downstream buyers and foreign trade enterprises. For buyers, a localized technology system means more stable supply chains, more controllable costs, and enhanced customization capabilities. For foreign trade enterprises, green intelligent manufacturing standards become a new competitive advantage internationally, helping to address environmental barriers in European and American markets.
International Cooperation Injects New Momentum
The International Science and Technology Cooperation Award announced alongside was granted to Professor Elsa Reichmanis, who has long promoted Sino-US scientific exchanges and deeply participated in China's fiber materials discipline. She is a distinguished chair professor at Lehigh University and a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Inventors, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Since 2013, she has collaborated closely with Donghua University's State Key Laboratory for Advanced Fiber Materials, engaging in joint graduate training, research, and talent development, co-publishing 18 high-level academic papers and one monograph. She has served as chair of the academic committee for the 9th to 12th International Conferences on Advanced Fibers and Polymer Materials, helping to develop it into the world's largest fiber-themed academic conference.
These two awards are the highest recognition of China's chemical fiber industry's independent innovation capabilities and international cooperation achievements, injecting strong momentum into the high-quality development of the textile industry. Looking ahead, Donghua University will continue to deepen industry-education integration and science-education convergence, while Tongkun Group and other leading enterprises will further strengthen collaborative innovation in industry, academia, and research, focusing on core technology breakthroughs to accelerate digital and low-carbon transformation, driving China's polyester fiber industry toward high-end, intelligent, and green development.