Recently, it was learned from the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology that the major provincial science and technology R&D project, "Research on Key Technologies of High-Performance Aramid Insulation Paper for New Energy," has successfully passed expert acceptance. The overall technology of the project has been appraised by the China National Light Industry Council as reaching the international advanced level. Since its implementation, the project has generated significant economic benefits, participated in the formulation of four national standards, and the developed aramid insulation paper products have obtained certification from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) in the United States.
Aramid insulation materials are globally recognized as the best insulation and structural materials. They are high-tech materials supported by the national "14th Five-Year Plan" as a key development priority and are also high-end strategic new materials urgently needed in China. With the rapid development of new energy vehicles and high-speed trains, as well as the upgrading and renovation of power grids, equipment such as high-power traction transformers for locomotives, motors, and new types of power transmission and transformation equipment for smart grids demand higher strength, temperature resistance, and insulation performance from aramid insulation paper-based materials. The quality of aramid paper products in China is low, suitable only for mid-to-low-end applications, and cannot meet the needs of high-end new energy fields. High-strength, high-temperature resistant aramid insulation paper still heavily relies on imports, and its key manufacturing technologies urgently need breakthroughs.
"The localization of aramid insulation paper should adhere to a dual breakthrough in raw materials and processes to fundamentally address product performance shortcomings. Jiangxi Province's direct response to industrial demands and precise targeting of technical challenges is an effective model for advancing the development of bottleneck materials," said Li Jinpeng, Associate Professor at the School of Light Industry and Engineering, South China University of Technology, and project leader. He explained that the team, building on this foundation, has focused on core stages such as aramid fiber preparation, slurry dispersion, and paper forming, overcoming multiple key technologies and forming an independent intellectual property process system. This has helped upgrade the new materials industry in Jiangxi Province, broken foreign technological blockades and product market monopolies, and achieved independent technological development and product import substitution.
A relevant official from the Third Industry Division of the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology stated that in recent years, the department has been problem-oriented and goal-oriented, fully promoting the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation. The project that has now passed acceptance was implemented to address key core technological issues in the current development of the new energy industry, following a model of "government guidance, enterprise initiative, and research institute support."
"Since the project's launch, the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology and Dingnan County have provided full-process tracking and precise, proactive services, helping Longbang Materials successfully connect with the academician team. They have provided comprehensive science and technology services, including project application, policy support, and bridging industry-university-research cooperation, offering solid service guarantees for Longbang Materials to secure the provincial major project," said Li Yongfeng, General Manager of Ganzhou Longbang Materials Technology Co., Ltd. He added that the company will continue to align with national strategic science and technology resources, persistently increase R&D investment, further refine technical specifications, and ensure continuous process optimization and more stable and reliable product quality.
Li Yongfeng stated that the company will accelerate the large-scale industrialization of the results and the expansion of market applications. Relying on the established thousand-ton production line, it will rapidly increase production capacity and market share, accelerate the widespread substitution of imported products by domestically produced high-performance aramid insulation paper in the new energy field, and ultimately form a complete set of manufacturing technologies with fully independent intellectual property rights. This will ensure that the project's outcomes serve the national new energy strategic industrial chain efficiently and on schedule, contributing to the high-quality development of the new materials and new energy industries in Jiangxi Province and the entire country.
"The project has developed key technologies including the preparation of aramid polymers with controllable molecular weight, the preparation of non-circular chopped fibers and flake-film precipitated fibers, ultra-low concentration forming using inclined wire wet-laid technology, and dry-wet coupled hot pressing. These have solved the technical challenges of poor dispersion during traditional aramid fiber web forming and significant differences in paper's longitudinal/transverse ratios," Li Jinpeng explained regarding the project's specific achievements. He added that the project has also established a production line for aramid insulation paper with an annual capacity of 1000 tons, whose main performance indicators meet the requirements of high-performance aramid insulation paper for new energy applications.