Top 10 Events of Global Composites Industry in 2021

In recent years, national ministries and commissions have issued policy documents on the development of new materials, emphasizing the strategic position of the new materials industry and providing important development opportunities for the field of composite materials. The domestic composite material industry in China is developing and growing rapidly,accelerating the promotion and application in the fields of aerospace, new energy, automobile, rail transportation, wind power, etc., iterating and upgrading in technology research, development and application, and injecting new vitality into the development of the construction material industry.

So,what are the big events happening in the composites industry in 2021? China Composites Industry Association and China Building Materials Magazine jointly released the top 10 news of composite material industry in 2021.

1、The world's first high-temperature superconducting high-speed magnetic levitation engineering prototype car opened： Design speed 620 km/h!

On January 13, the world's first high-temperature superconducting high-speed magnetic levitation engineering prototype and test line was officially opened in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The prototype is manufactured by Shanghai Jinfei using new techniques such as full carbon composite lightweight body and low resistance head shape, with a design speed of 620 km/h, which is expected to create a new record for land transportation speed and lay the foundation for a breakthrough to the speed value of more than 1000 km/h in the long run.

As a key engineering project of the National Science and Technology Work Conference in 2021 - the 600 km/h high-speed maglev test prototype came off the line, which is a concrete practice to implement the accelerated key core technology research and comprehensive major special task sprint. On behalf of China, the application of carbon fiber composite materials in high-speed trains has moved into the forefront of the world. Transportation is the most important field of composite materials, with the continuous innovation of technology, under the promotion of carbon peak and carbon neutrality target, the light weight of transportation tools will become the main development direction in a certain period of time, special sealing materials, special friction materials and carbon fiber resin-based composites are being used in large quantities. By the end of 2021, the national production of new lines reached 4,208 km, including 2,168 km of high-speed rail. So far, the national railroad mileage exceeded 150,000 km, of which high-speed rail has exceeded 40,000 km.

2、CNBM accelerates its entry into the aviation industry, contributing 100 million to establish an affiliated company

Sinoma Science & Technology Co,. Ltd announced an external investment (aerospace composite materials) and related transaction on February 26, 2021, in which it intends to jointly invest RMB 100 million with CNBM to established CNBM (Shanghai) Aviation Composite Materials Co.,Ltd.

The aerospace industry, a core sector for composites, is expected to reach a global market for aerospace materials of $26.5 billion by 2025 and $56 billion by 2030. The value of advanced recyclable composites will continue to grow, driven by factors such as lightweight, fuel consumption and growing environmental concepts. From a worldwide perspective, although the global impact of the pandemic, while China benefits from the domestic economic transformation and urbanization process, domestic civil aviation, general aviation, air sports demand is rising. China's aviation industry has opened a new era. It is predicted that the market size of China's aerospace composites will reach ￥25.8 billion in 2022, with a forecasted CAGR of 9.4% in the next few years, which will help form specialized leading composites companies in different segments.

3、The recycling of wind power FRP solid waste is on the rise

Composites UK has announced its participation in a major new project to develop wind turbine blade recycling in the UK, which was formally approved after the proposal received funding from the UK government. The main objective of the pilot project is to ensure a more sustainable future for the global wind energy industry and the wider composites manufacturing industry - all of which will accelerate the achievement of net zero emissions and lower waste, ensure the sustainability of wind energy and composites globally, and create new skills and jobs in the sector in the UK.

Wind power is already an important source of electricity supply for countries around the world. In the EU, for example, wind power accounts for less than 1% of the overall electricity supply in 2000, to more than 16% at present. According to information released by the National Energy Administration of China, China's cumulative installed wind turbines have accounted for 12.9% of the country's installed power generation capacity from 381.2Mw in 2001 to 300 million kw by the end of 2021. Research shows that, according to the calculation of the design life about 20 ~ 25 years for a wind power blade, by 2050, the global waste blade will reach 43 million tons, of which China accounted for 40%, Europe accounted for 25%, the United States of America accounted for 16%, other regions accounted for 19%. It estimates that 52,000 wind turbine blades will need to be discarded each year until 2030. China will have about 10,920 tons of blades and about 3,000 tons of nacelle covers and hubcaps, totaling about 15,000 tons of waste FRP to be disposed of during 2020~2025, and 744,000 tons of blades and 137,500 tons of nacelle covers and hubcaps, totaling about 900,000 tons of waste FRP to be disposed of during 2020~2030. As an industry chasing the sunrise, the wind power industry is desperately short of practical experience in handling waste blades. At present, its main disposal method is simply burying and burning, resulting in a extremely unfriendly huge waste of land resources. WindEurope has called for a Europe-wide ban on landfill of waste wind turbine blades by 2025, and the Global Composites Sustainability Coalition (GCSC) has responded positively. The current blade recycling-related business is becoming an industry hotspot, ready to take off.

4、Raw materials prices soar, composites products companies increase profit pressure

Since this year, some commodity prices continue to rise sharply, including iron ore, steel, copper and other varieties of prices to continue last year's upward trend, some hit a 10-year high. According to the published PMI data, the raw material purchase price r