Carbon Nanotubes "Burst", Chemical Giant Announces Over 10-Fold Expansion to "Grab" Market!

Recently, Zeon Corporation of JapanZeonIt plans to expand its Yamaguchi City production base to increase its single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) production capacity by more than tenfold, thereby capturing a rapidly growing market share, reinforcing its leading position in the SWCNT field, and ensuring stable global supply.

As a global leader in carbon nanotube production, Zeon Corporation has long been committed to the development of carbon nanotube technologies. Following the development of the “Super Growth” method for synthesizing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan in 2004, Zeon established a deep collaboration with AIST. In 2015, Zeon became the first company worldwide to construct and operate a mass-production facility for SWCNTs based on the “Super Growth” method, successfully scaling this technology for industrial application. Today, Zeon’s SWCNT business serves more than 200 enterprises and research institutions globally.

Notably, the expansion of the Yamaguchi City production facility is not Zeon’s only recent investment move. In May 2025, Zeon signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Taiwan-based SiAT (Pan Asia Applied Technology Co., Ltd.), leading a $20 million (approximately RMB 144 million) Series C funding round to support SiAT’s capacity expansion for single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) conductive dispersions.Achieve an annual production capacity of 25,000 tons of SWCNT slurry by 2030.。

Zeon's frequent investments in the single-walled carbon nanotube field are not an isolated case. In recent years, carbon nanotubes, hailed as the "king of nanomaterials," have been accelerating their move from the laboratory to the forefront of the industry, becoming a focal point spanning multiple sectors such as energy, electronics, and manufacturing. The unique performance advantages of carbon nanotubes, combined with the robust demand from the downstream market, have, under the synergy of multiple factors, propelled the carbon nanotube industry into a period of rapid development. This forms the core context for Zeon's continued increase in investment.

The upgrading and iteration of the lithium-ion battery industry is the core driving force behind the surge in carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes, with their extremely high aspect ratio, can construct a stable three-dimensional conductive network in electrode materials, significantly improving electron transport efficiency and effectively solving the pain points of traditional conductive agents. Especially single-walled carbon nanotubes can greatly enhance the energy density and cycle life of batteries, becoming the key material supporting the high-end upgrading of lithium batteries.

With the rapid adoption of end products such as electric vehicles, drones, and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, market demands for the comprehensive performance of lithium-ion batteries continue to rise, significantly driving up demand for carbon nanotubes in the lithium battery industry. Additionally, the industrialization of solid-state batteries is accelerating steadily, with mass production expected between 2026 and 2027. Single-walled carbon nanotubes, as an ideal additive for both the cathode and silicon-carbon anode materials in solid-state batteries, will require 3–5 times the amount used in liquid-state batteries, further widening the market supply-demand gap and creating greater growth opportunities for the carbon nanotube industry.

Besides the battery sector, the expansion of demand across multiple fields has also provided another driving force for the rapid development of carbon nanotubes. For example, in the current hot field of humanoid robots, carbon nanotube composites can achieve lightweight and high-toughness joints and frames of robots, and can also be applied to core components such as artificial muscles and flexible sensors, effectively enhancing the flexibility and operational stability of robots. In the field of electronic materials, carbon nanotubes possess the unique advantages of flexibility and conductivity, making them a key candidate for the next generation of transparent conductive materials, which can be widely adapted to emerging products such as flexible displays and wearable devices, with great market potential.

Although the market prospects for carbon nanotubes are broad and demand is continuously surging, their commercialization process still faces multiple bottlenecks, restricting the industry's transition from "high-end niche" to "mass adoption."

High production costs represent the most critical pain point. Currently, the price of carbon nanotube (CNT) powder remains between 60,000 and 500,000 RMB per ton—significantly higher than that of conventional carbon materials such as carbon black and graphite—rendering CNTs applicable only in niche, high-end markets and hindering their large-scale adoption. The root cause of this high cost lies in the synthesis process: conventional production methods rely on polymer-grade ethylene and propylene, requiring ultra-strict purification of raw materials to parts-per-million (ppm) levels. This not only entails massive capital investment in equipment but also incurs high risks associated with the transportation and storage of such purified feedstocks. Consequently, reducing synthesis costs has become a pivotal, uncharted challenge urgently demanding breakthroughs to advance CNT industrialization.

Moreover, high technological barriers constitute another significant constraint. Currently, the core technologies for mass-producing carbon nanotubes are primarily held by leading foreign enterprises, and new entrants face high technological thresholds, making it difficult to achieve rapid technological breakthroughs and scale up production—thereby limiting the overall development pace of the industry.

Faced with a vast market prospect, domestic and foreign enterprises are intensifying their R&D and production capacity investments, actively promoting the industrial scaling-up and high-end upgrading of carbon nanotubes to seize the commanding heights of industrial development.

In overseas enterprises, OCSiAl continues to expand its global single-wall carbon nanotube dispersion production network. In 2026, the company's second synthesis line was officially put into operation, increasing the total capacity to 120 tons; within the next year, the third and fourth production lines will be launched successively, raising the total capacity to 300 tons and consolidating its leading position in the global market.

Domestic enterprises are also accelerating their layout with multiple breakthroughs. Tianna Technology has planned a total project of 450 tons of high-efficiency single-wall nanocarbon conductive materials, to be built in three phases, each of 150 tons. The first phase has been basically completed, and the company's annualized capacity is expected to reach 80-100 tons by 2026.

Dao's Technology has disclosed that its single-walled carbon nanotubes have achieved pilot-scale mass production and plans to reach an annual production capacity of 50 tons by the first quarter of 2026, with further expansion to 120 tons per year thereafter. The related products have already passed coin cell testing by leading customers in Japan and Korea and have been validated in domestic 3C customers' pouch battery systems, demonstrating their growing market acceptance in high-end battery applications.

Wuhan Carbon Technology, a leading enterprise that has achieved ton-level production of single-walled carbon nanotubes, has independently developed high-performance single-walled carbon nanotube materials, with product performance reaching international advanced levels. Currently, the company's carbon nanotube products are in short supply, and the annual production capacity is expected to be expanded to 120 tons. In 2025, the company's new material project will move into the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone New Material Industrial Park. The project is planned to invest 300 million yuan, and will lease 19,015 square meters of standard factory buildings. After full production, the annual output value is expected to reach 500 million yuan.

Shandong Tanxun is one of the few companies in China that has mastered the mass production technology of single-walled carbon nanotubes. It has invested in the country's first 10,000-ton-per-year single-walled carbon nanotube conductive ink project. In 2025, the company's high-purity SWCNT powder capacity will reach 100 tons per year, and the conductive ink capacity will reach 13,000 tons per year; by 2026, the powder capacity will increase to 400 tons; by 2028, the powder capacity target will reach 1,000 tons, and the ink capacity will reach 100,000 tons, gradually achieving large-scale and intensive development.

Huatan Technology has achieved three major leaps—from samples to commercial products, from materials to solutions, and from technology to industry—becoming an industry game-changer that bridges the gap to mass production and possesses full-spectrum customization capabilities. The company was the first to achieve ton-scale mass production of high-quality single-walled carbon nanotubes and breakthroughs in dispersion technology. Its products’ core performance metrics, as verified by actual testing, surpass those of international benchmarks. These products have already been supplied in bulk to multiple industry-leading enterprises and validated in practical applications, demonstrating the technological strength of domestic enterprises.

Zunyi City Juyuan New Materials Co., Ltd. has independently developed a fully automated, continuous production line for carbon nanotubes (CNTs), achieving the world’s highest single-unit production capacity for thin-walled CNTs—1,000 tons per year. Currently, the company’s total annual production capacity reaches 7,500 tons of CNT powder and 30,000 tons of CNT conductive slurry. Its product portfolio includes both CNT powder and conductive slurry, meeting diverse application requirements across downstream industries.

Ningbo Xienwo New Materials has established pilot lines for powder, slurry, and functional coatings. The purity of its single-walled carbon nanotube powder has reached 99.5% ± 0.5%. The products have been validated by leading downstream enterprises in fields such as new energy batteries and have officially entered the supply stage, realizing the transformation of technological achievements into industrial value.

The infrastructure construction for Weihai Hengsheng New Materials’ project—producing 40,000 tons/year of lithium-ion battery anode materials, 10,000 tons/year of carbon nanotube conductive agents, and 20,000 tons/year of graphene products—has been completed. Upon full capacity operation, the project’s output value will reach RMB 2 billion, injecting new growth momentum into the carbon nanotube industry.

Hunan Yuxiling New Materials Co. has independently developed a complete technical system encompassing catalyst design, continuous CVD reaction systems, dispersion and purification, and slurry formulation, achieving high-purity, low-cost, and scalable production. The company is dedicated to the industrialization of domestically produced single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), aiming to break through foreign technological barriers and advance the autonomous and controllable development of China's carbon nanotube industry.