China switches on world's largest production line for electronic-grade fiberglass

China switched on the world's largest production line for a material fundamental to modern life on Wednesday at its zero-carbon intelligent manufacturing base in Huai'an city, Jiangsu Province.

The material is electronic-grade fiberglass, the invisible backbone of printed circuit boards (PCBs), known as the "mother of electronic system products." PCBs serve as the physical carrier and electrical interconnection for all chips to sensors. From the phone in your pocket to AI servers crunching data in the cloud, none of it works without this critical raw material. 

The newly launched production line has an annual capacity of 390 million meters of electronic-grade fiberglass, accounting for approximately 9% of the global market. The project integrates a range of cutting-edge technologies independently developed in China, including high-performance glass formulations, ultra-large energy-efficient furnaces and oxy-fuel combustion systems, all supported by fully proprietary intellectual property.

The electronic-grade fiberglass and fabrics coming out of the facility are destined for new energy vehicles, photovoltaics and the low-altitude economy. The project is expected to boost China's self-sufficiency in high-end electronic base materials, providing critical support for sectors such as AI servers, high-performance computing chips and high-frequency communications.

"The facility currently operates on 100% green electricity," said Gu Jianding, the project leader of the manufacturing base. The secret to its zero-carbon operation sits on site: a 233-megawatt wind power project, generating over 600 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. That's enough to power roughly 140,000 households and cuts carbon emissions by more than 400,000 tonnes each year.