Hyosung Advanced Materials Develops Essential 'Ultra-High Strength Carbon Fiber' for Space Industry Following US and Japan

‘Buddha-Linked Cooperation Technology Development Project’ Performance
Milestone for Advanced Carbon Fiber Materials
Chairman Cho Hyun-joon: “Will Contribute to the Development of Domestic Carbon Fiber Industry”

Hyosung Advanced Materials Jeonju Plant exterior. Photo by Hyosung

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] Hyosung Advanced Materials has taken a step closer to the localization of space and aerospace materials by developing ultra-high-strength carbon fiber.

On the 12th, Hyosung Advanced Materials announced that it had succeeded in developing ‘H3065 (T-1000 grade)’ ultra-high-strength carbon fiber with a tensile strength of 6.4 GPa and a modulus of elasticity of over 295 GPa.

This development of ultra-high-strength carbon fiber began in August 2017 as part of a Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy-funded project in collaboration with the Defense Science Research Institute and the Civil-Military Cooperation Promotion Agency, achieving results after five years.

Applicable in Various Fields such as Space, Aerospace, and Defense... Essential Material for Space Industry Development

Hyosung Advanced Materials’ previously focused ‘H2550 (tensile strength 5.5 GPa, modulus of elasticity 250 GPa, T-700 grade)’ carbon fiber has a strength more than 10 times that of steel and has mainly been used for hydrogen fuel tanks, electrical wire cores, solar insulation materials, and sports applications.

Compared to this, the newly developed ‘H3065’ carbon fiber is an ultra-high-strength special carbon fiber with strength more than 14 times that of steel. The equivalent T-1000 carbon fiber is widely used in the aerospace and defense industries, including Boeing’s latest aircraft fuselages and parts, satellites, and space launch vehicles.

In particular, ultra-high-strength carbon fiber is considered an essential material in the space industry for developing space launch vehicles and satellites. Compared to traditional materials like aluminum used in launch vehicles, it is much lighter while possessing high elasticity and strength, allowing the launch vehicle to reduce weight as much as possible, withstand higher loads, and increase propulsion power.

Launch vehicles using carbon fiber can reduce weight and thus carry less fuel, enabling an increase in payload weight. A representative example is the use of carbon composite materials in the payload fairing that protects the satellite payload on the recently launched Nuri rocket.

In the defense sector, applying carbon fiber to launch vehicles maximizes weight reduction, which is known to improve speed and range.

Hyosung Advanced Materials Carbon Fiber. Photo by Hyosung

Chairman Cho Hyun-joon: “Third in the World after Japan and the U.S. ... Will Contribute to the Development of the Domestic Carbon Fiber Industry”

T-1000 grade carbon fiber requires highly difficult overall processes such as raw material polymerization, spinning, and carbonization, and differentiated technology, so it was only produced in Japan and the United States.

Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon said, “With this development, Korea has created an opportunity to join the ranks of advanced carbon material countries capable of producing ultra-high-strength carbon fiber, following Japan and the U.S. We will continue to strive to develop ultra-high-performance carbon fiber materials that can lead the market and do our best to contribute to the development of the domestic carbon fiber industry.”

Bang Yun-hyuk, President of the Korea Carbon Industry Promotion Agency, said, “Localization of carbon fiber materials in the space, aerospace, defense, and future mobility sectors, which were previously dependent on imports, is highly anticipated. This development secures a material supply chain that forms the foundation for the growth of the domestic space industry and establishes a stepping stone toward becoming a science and technology powerhouse through possession of core technologies.”

It is also evaluated that Hyosung Advanced Materials has taken a step closer to its goal of entering the global top 3 in the carbon fiber field and secured competitiveness in the carbon fiber industry, which it has identified as a new growth engine.

Entry into the High Value-Added Space and Aerospace Carbon Fiber Market

According to Fuji Keizai, a Japanese market research firm, the global PAN-based carbon fiber market is expected to grow steadily at an average annual rate of 10%, expanding from 85,790 tons last year to 327,430 tons by 2035.

In terms of the global carbon fiber market size, wind power blades accounted for the highest proportion at 39% last year, followed by space and aerospace at 15%, sports and leisure at 12%, and automotive at 7%.

Through the development of ‘H3065’ carbon fiber, Hyosung Advanced Materials has been able to enter the high value-added space and aerospace carbon fiber market. Space and aerospace carbon fiber ranks second in the global carbon fiber market by volume at 15%, but accounts for a high share of over 30% by value, making it a high value-added market.

Hyosung Advanced Materials plans to complete follow-up application research as quickly as possible through collaboration with institutions.

Meanwhile, Hyosung Advanced Materials developed Korea’s first ‘high-performance carbon fiber TANSOME®’ based on proprietary technology in 2011 and has been operating its Jeonju plant since 2013. It plans to invest 1 trillion KRW by 2028 to expand the Jeonju plant’s carbon fiber production line to an annual capacity of 24,000 tons. Currently, it is conducting a third expansion to increase production capacity from 6,500 tons to 9,000 tons annually.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.