A full-chain technological achievement covering the entire polyester fiber industry has just won China's highest scientific honor.
Technological Breakthrough and Industrial Value
The 2025 National Science and Technology Progress Award first prize was awarded to the 'Key Technologies for Green and Intelligent Manufacturing of Polyester Fiber Industrial Chain' project, led by Tongkun Group and involving Donghua University, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, and seven other institutions. This marks the third time in a decade that the textile chemical fiber sector has reached the top podium, following carbon fiber technology in 2017 and automated yarn dyeing in 2014.
Polyester fiber is the 'staple food' of the textile industry. China produces 70% of the world's chemical fibers, with polyester fiber accounting for the largest share. The significance of this project lies not in a single-process improvement but in building a fully self-controllable advanced manufacturing system from PTA to PET to spinning and texturing.
Public data shows the project has generated 76 authorized invention patents and 14 national and industry standards. It has been implemented in industrial bases in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Xinjiang, generating over 200 billion yuan in new sales, 10 billion yuan in profits and taxes, and $1.8 billion in export earnings. This means the technology not only serves industrial upgrading but also translates directly into quantifiable economic benefits.
Three Core Technologies Reshaping Industry Logic
The project achieved systemic breakthroughs in three dimensions, each addressing the most pressing pain points of the current industry.
In green manufacturing, the team pioneered a direct PTA-PET coupling low-carbon model and developed environmentally friendly titanium-based catalysts to replace traditional antimony-based ones. This change directly reduces heavy metal pollution risks and establishes a full-lifecycle green standard, providing upstream support for downstream brands facing ESG compliance.
In intelligent manufacturing, full-process automation equipment upgrades and domestic substitution of DCS control systems mean that key control links in polyester fiber plants no longer rely on imported software and hardware. For buyers, this translates into improved supply chain stability and potential cost reductions.
Service-oriented manufacturing is the most forward-looking breakthrough. The 'multi-head, multi-tail' series-parallel composite polymerization platform allows a single production line to flexibly switch between producing different specifications of differentiated polyester fiber products. For downstream fabric and apparel companies, this means customized supply in small batches and multiple varieties becomes feasible, significantly reducing inventory pressure and trial costs.
Dual Track: Industry-University Collaboration and International Cooperation
Notably, this award ceremony also granted the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award to Professor Elsa Reichmanis of Lehigh University, who has collaborated with Donghua University's State Key Laboratory for Advanced Fiber Materials for over a decade. She has jointly trained talent, published papers, and helped elevate the International Conference on Advanced Fiber and Polymer Materials into the world's largest fiber-themed academic event.
This sends a key signal: China's independent innovation in the textile industry is not moving toward closure but maintains high-level international collaboration at critical nodes. Particularly in basic materials research and frontier fiber technology, open cooperation remains an important path to accelerate breakthroughs.