The domestic carbon fiber industry is moving from 'being able to produce' to 'producing uniformly and efficiently'. Following the implementation of the national standard for carbonization equipment in June 2025, the precursor equipment sector now has its first national specification—'Terminology, Classification and Model Designation Method for Polyacrylonitrile Fiber Production Complete Equipment'—officially approved and set to take effect on February 1, 2027. Led by Jinggong Technology and Huachuang Technology, this standard closes the loop in the core segment of China's carbon fiber equipment standard system.
How the Standard Gap Hindered Supply Chain Efficiency
PAN precursor is the precursor of carbon fiber, and its quality directly determines the strength and stability of the final product. However, for a long time, China lacked unified terminology and classification rules for precursor equipment, leading to inconsistent naming and technical parameters among different manufacturers. This 'everyone speaks their own language' situation made equipment selection difficult during production line design, prevented buyers from effectively comparing performance across suppliers, and severely lowered the coordination efficiency of the entire supply chain. For carbon fiber producers, incompatible equipment and non-standardized models meant higher trial-and-error costs and longer commissioning cycles, directly impacting yield rates and production costs.
Full-Process Coverage from Polymerization to Solvent Recovery
The newly released national standard is not limited to a single piece of equipment or process step. It covers the entire process flow from polymerization, spinning, drawing, and drying to solvent recovery. For the first time, it defines unified terminology, a classification system, and model designation rules for the complete set of equipment in these processes. For precursor producers and equipment manufacturers, this means a common language for technical exchanges, procurement tenders, and production line upgrades. Previously, the national standard for carbonization equipment, also led by Jinggong Technology, was implemented in June 2025. With this new standard, both the precursor and carbonization stages are now covered, creating a unified standard system for the entire carbon fiber equipment chain.
Practical Impact on Carbon Fiber Localization
From an industry perspective, the completion of the standard system will generate multiple ripple effects. First, equipment procurement costs are expected to decrease—unified model designations allow buyers to more accurately compare prices and select equipment, reducing premiums caused by information asymmetry. Second, production line construction cycles will shorten—design institutes and system integrators can adopt modular designs based on the standard during the planning phase, reducing customization communication costs. More importantly, the standard removes a barrier to the large-scale promotion of domestic equipment. Previously, domestic precursor equipment often faced reliability doubts when supplied to large carbon fiber enterprises or exported, due to the lack of national standard endorsement. Now, with national standard backing, the market voice of domestic equipment will be substantially enhanced.
Next Targets: Large-Tow and High-Performance Precursor Equipment
Jinggong Technology has indicated that it will continue to collaborate with Huachuang Technology, leveraging the implementation of these two national standards to promote group standards and focus on breaking through key bottlenecks in large-tow, high-performance PAN precursor, and carbonization equipment. Large-tow carbon fiber is the mainstream choice for industrial applications such as wind turbine blades and pressure vessels, while high-performance precursor is the foundation for aerospace-grade carbon fiber. The establishment of the equipment standard system provides a reusable technical base and industrialization pathway for these key technological breakthroughs. For downstream users, this means that domestic carbon fiber will become more competitive in terms of cost performance and supply stability.