One figure should catch every textile professional's attention: China now produces 70% of the world's chemical fibers, with polyester fiber ranking first among all types. But for years, a critical question remained: has the industry truly closed the loop on its own technology system for the entire polyester chain? The answer came from the 2025 National Science and Technology Progress Award (First Class), which was won by the project 'Key Technologies for Green and Intelligent Manufacturing in the Polyester Fiber Industrial Chain,' led by Tongkun Group and involving ten institutions including Donghua University. This is not only the first time in years that the textile sector has claimed the top award, but it also marks a substantive step from 'scale leadership' to 'self-controlled technology system.'
Background
This award-winning project focuses on the entire polyester fiber chain, addressing two core themes: green manufacturing and intelligent manufacturing. According to publicly available data, from 2012 to 2020, the textile sector received 28 national science and technology awards, including 22 for technological progress. However, first-class awards were mostly concentrated in niche areas like carbon fiber and intelligent dyeing. This polyester project is the first to achieve systematic breakthroughs across the entire general fiber chain, establishing a replicable set of proprietary technical standards for the largest segment of chemical fiber production.
The project was led by Professor Wang Huaping from Donghua University, with deep involvement from academician Zhu Meifang. The team collaborated with Tongkun Group and other industry leaders over more than a decade of industry-academia-research joint efforts, building a comprehensive intellectual property system including 76 authorized invention patents, 10 software copyrights, and 14 national and industry standards. An expert panel confirmed that the overall technology has reached an internationally leading level.
Industry Impact
From an industry perspective, the technological breakthrough has significant ripple effects upstream and downstream. On the green manufacturing front, the project pioneered a PTA-PET direct-coupling low-carbon production model and developed environmentally friendly titanium-based catalysts. This means carbon emissions and hazardous substance releases during polyester fiber production will be substantially reduced. For downstream fabric mills and brand buyers, this translates into a raw material supply that better meets 'dual carbon' targets without additional green premiums—because the technology is already scaled.
On the intelligent manufacturing front, the project addresses the long-standing reliance on imported control systems. It achieved large-scale domestic substitution of DCS control systems and established an integrated process-quality management system. For factories, this means higher production stability and lower defect rates, directly translating into cost advantages. Data shows that the results have been implemented in industrial bases in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Xinjiang, as well as at over ten enterprises, generating cumulative new sales of over 200 billion RMB, profits and taxes of over 10 billion RMB, and export earnings of 1.8 billion USD.
The service-oriented manufacturing dimension, with its 'multi-head, multi-tail' series-parallel composite polymerization platform, enables customized production of differentiated polyester fiber products. Previously, buyers seeking specific fiber properties faced high minimum order quantities and long lead times. The new platform, through modular digital linkage, achieves multi-region collaborative agile manufacturing, significantly lowering the barrier to customization.