Long Way to Go
According to industry sources, the global carbon fiber market is expected to double in size between 2010 and 2020. At present, the global market size is around 60,000 tons. The automotive carbon fiber market segment in particular is predicted to show a more rapid growth, from 1,000 tons to 5,000 tons between 2011 and last year and to 35,000 tons in 2020.
The global carbon fiber market is currently dominated by U.S. and Japanese companies such as Toray, Mitsubishi Rayon and Helsel while Taiwanese and German manufacturers are striving to catch up with them.
In South Korea, Toray Advanced Materials is producing approximately 4,700 tons of carbon fiber while Hyosung and Taekwang Industry are producing 2,000 tons and 1,500 tons or so, respectively. Hyosung started its production operations in 2013 and it is planning to increase its annual production volume to 17,000 tons by 2020. Its carbon fiber Tansome is becoming increasingly popular in Europe these days. Taekwang Industry, in the meantime, became the first South Korean carbon fiber manufacturer in March 2013.
These South Korean companies are developing various carbon fiber products on their own but their applications are still rather limited. Specifically, their products are currently used mainly in fishing rods, CNG tanks, wheelchairs, etc, but not for aircrafts.