South Korea’s Hyosung Group pledged 1 trillion won ($828 million) over the next decade to expand its carbon fiber capacity to 24,000 tons a year from current 2,000 tons as the government vowed full support in grooming the material pivotal to hydrogen and future industries.

Hyosung said it will add nine additional carbon fiber production lines at its current plant in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province by investing 1 trillion won until 2028, an upgrade that would make it the world`s third largest carbon fiber producer responsible for a 10 percent market share in 2028.

The company currently ranks 11th with a 2 percent market share. The investment is also expected to create about 2,300 new jobs in the region.

Carbon fiber weighing about one-fourth the weight of steel is 10 times stronger and seven times more elastic. It is a key material for the hydrogen energy market.

Carbon fiber has immeasurable growth potential with significant downstream effects on other industries, Hyosung chairman Cho Hyun-joon said during a memorandum of understanding with Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and partner companies.

President Moon Jae-in, who visited Hyosung’s Jeonju plant to congratulate the company’s new vision to be a major carbon fiber producer, vowed concentrated state support. He said Korea needs to depend less on Japan when it comes to core materials, emphasizing efforts to localize high-tech materials amid a trade row with Japan.

The president promised bold support for innovation in the high-tech component manufacturing sector by selecting 100 target items for growth, including carbon fiber, and investing 7 to 8 trillion won over the next seven years. This is the way to become an "unshakable economic powerhouse and we should lessen our dependence on core materials from specific countries,” he added.

By Park Yong-bum and Minu Kim

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