The long-standing lack of uniform standards for upstream precursor equipment in the carbon fiber supply chain is being addressed. A newly approved national standard, "Terminology, Classification, and Model Designation Method for Complete Sets of Polyacrylonitrile Fiber Production Equipment," will officially take effect on February 1, 2027, marking an extension of China's carbon fiber equipment standardization from the carbonization stage to the precursor stage.
Completing the Standard Puzzle
This standard was jointly led by Zhejiang Jinggong Integrated Technology Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Huachuang Carbon Fiber Technology Co., Ltd. Notably, this is not Jinggong Technology's first involvement in national standards for carbon fiber equipment—its previously led "Terminology, Classification, and Model Designation Method for Complete Sets of Fiber Carbonization Production Equipment" was implemented in June 2025.
From a timeline perspective, the carbonization equipment standard was implemented first, followed by the precursor equipment standard, forming a sequential connection. With this, both core stages of carbon fiber production—precursor preparation and carbonization—are now covered by a unified national standard framework, and the full-process equipment standard system has taken initial shape. For the supply chain, this means common language for terminology, classification, and model naming across the entire chain from polymerization and spinning to carbonization.
Pain Points and Breakthroughs
Polyacrylonitrile 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, the domestic precursor equipment sector lacked unified norms, with different manufacturers using their own terminology, classification, and model naming. This fragmentation led to difficulties in equipment selection during production line design, lack of reference for procurement comparison, and high adaptation costs for downstream users when switching between different equipment.
The new standard for the first time unifies terminology, classification, and model designation rules for the entire process from polymerization, spinning, drawing, drying, to solvent recovery. For equipment manufacturers, product naming and classification now have a benchmark, facilitating technical benchmarking and market promotion. For carbon fiber producers, evaluating parameters and performance during equipment procurement becomes more accurate, reducing the risk of selection errors. The deeper impact lies in the potential for significantly improved coordination efficiency across the supply chain in technical communication, production line integration, and operation and maintenance services after standardization.
Industry Impact and Future Challenges
The advancement of carbon fiber equipment standardization essentially paves the way for large-scale, high-quality development of the domestic carbon fiber industry. Carbon fiber is widely used in aerospace, wind turbine blades, pressure vessels, and sporting goods, but domestic carbon fiber still has room for improvement in stability and cost control for high-end grades. Unified equipment standards help lower the technical threshold for replicating and expanding production lines, accelerating capacity deployment.
Jinggong Technology stated that it will continue to collaborate with Huachuang Technology, leveraging the implementation and promotion of the two national standards while advancing the application of group standards. Key focus areas include tackling core bottlenecks in large-tow, high-performance PAN precursor, and carbonization complete sets of equipment. From an industry perspective, large-tow carbon fiber is in high demand in industrial fields like wind power and building reinforcement, while high-performance small-tow products rely on more precise precursor and carbonization equipment. The improved standard system provides a foundational framework for overcoming these technical bottlenecks.