Hyosung to increase carbon fibre capacity

The South Korean company has laid out plans to invest KRW 1 trillion to increase its annual carbon fibre production output by 2028.

The new agreement outlined at an event at the current carbon fibre plant will see Hyosung expand its annual production capacity from the current 2,000 tons (1 line) to 24,000 tons (10 lines). This would be the largest capacity of a single plant in the world. With the first expansion underway, the company plans to complete a carbon fibre plant with an annual capacity of 2,000 tons in January 2020 and begin full-scale production in February.

When the project is completed the company claim their global market share will rise from 11th (2 %) as of 2019 to 3rd (10 %) in the world. Employment is also expected to increase significantly from the current 400 to more than 2,300 new jobs by 2028.

We took note of the future value of carbon fibre and started to develop our own technology. The potential for the upstream industry of carbon fibre is limitless. As the hydrogen economy has opened a new market of carbon fibre, we will play a pivotal role in making Korea a material powerhouse. Hyun-Joon Cho, Chairman of Hyosung

The event included an “agreement ceremony for facility expansion and investment support” between Hyosung and the government and local municipalities, including Jeollabuk-do and Jeonju and  an “alliance MOU ceremony” aimed at strengthening cooperation including joint testing between the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Hyosung, and relevant companies, such as Iljin Materials, and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).