Japanese chemical company Toray Industries has announced plans to increase regular tow carbon fibre production capacity at two facilities. Capital investments will add lines to the Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, the US of Toray Composite Materials America and the Gumi plant in Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea of Toray Advanced Materials Korea. These investments will increase the Toray Group’s annual capacity by over 20 per cent to 35,000 metric tons beginning in 2025.

These important capacity increases are in response to the market situation in the United States and Korea, where demand for pressure vessel applications is rising. Fuelled by the ongoing clean energy revolution in hydrogen, natural gas, and other industrial applications, these expansions target high-strength carbon fibres up to 24,000 filaments per tow. The capacity increases will also complement total supply for other core markets such as aviation.

Toray anticipates demand for regular tow carbon fibre to expand by 17 per cent annually on a decarbonisation megatrend. The decarbonisation megatrend signals the growing demand for compressed natural gas delivery vehicles and gas transportation tanks, increasing the need for compressed natural gas, hydrogen tanks, and other pressure vessel applications. This trend will also increase the adoption of regular tow carbon fibre for passenger cars, trucks, trains, and ships that utilise fuel cells, the company said in a press release.

Toray has made growing sustainably pivotal to Project AP-G 2025, its medium-term management programme. Accordingly, the company has positioned industrial applications of its carbon fibre composite materials business to accelerate measures tackling climate change. Toray will fully leverage its comprehensive capabilities in keeping with its corporate philosophy of contributing to society by creating new value and help materialiase a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.