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Carbon fibre, Toray (Japan)
Ehime, Japan33.84°N 132.77°E
computed criticality23/100
reading
Toray > 50% of the PAN fibre market; aerospace backbone (Boeing 787)
2024Fault line
Aerospace-grade carbon fibre is a near-monopoly of know-how: Toray controls more than half of the PAN fibre market and supplies the structure of the Boeing 787. Its manufacture demands an inert nitrogen atmosphere for carbonisation and a high-performance epoxy matrix, two dependencies internal to this same chemical stratum. Qualifying a fibre for aeronautics takes years; the redundancy (Mitsubishi, Teijin, Hexcel, SGL) exists but remains secondary.
Actors
Toray (Ehime / Tokyo)
Mitsubishi Chemical (Tokyo)
Teijin (Osaka)
Hexcel (Stamford)
SGL Carbon (Wiesbaden)
Depends on 2
Industrial gases, Air Liquide & LindeChemicals & Materials · Critical anchor↗Epoxy resins, China, Olin, KukdoChemicals & Materials · Link↗Feeds 1
Airbus, Toulouse, OccitaniaCritical Metals↗Sources