Jinbo Showcases Domestic Fuel Cell Carbon Paper: 82% Porosity, 20% Lower Cost, 300,000 sq m Line

A black sheet less than half a millimeter thick is the key substrate for the gas diffusion layer in hydrogen fuel cells, performing three core functions: conducting electrons, distributing gas and liquid, and withstanding operating conditions. For a long time, this material was monopolized by foreign companies, with domestic substitution below 5%, making it the most difficult and least localized link in the hydrogen fuel cell supply chain. Hunan Jinbo Carbon Co. , Ltd. , based in the Yiyang High-tech Zone in Hunan Province, has built a hydrogen energy carbon paper production line covering the entire process from base paper preparation to microporous layer coating.

Carbon paper research and development began in 2021. Jinbo spent more than three years overcoming mass-production challenges and has now built a production line with an annual capacity of 300,000 square meters. According to the company, difficulties include highly confidential processes, extremely high requirements for conductivity and consistency, and continuous graphitization at 2,000 degrees Celsius. Related equipment is largely banned from export to China by international markets. Jinbo, based on two decades of technological accumulation, started with aviation brake materials and gradually expanded into frontier fields such as photovoltaic carbon-based thermal fields and new energy battery materials.

Actual test data show that the domestic carbon paper has a measured porosity of 82%, higher than the 78% of the best imported product. Overall voltage is 30 millivolts higher than imported products, comprehensive performance improves by about 30%, and comprehensive cost is reduced by at least 20%. These figures are measured by customers and reflect significant gains in stack system power and cost savings.

On the technology front, the 'Preparation Technology for High-Performance Carbon/Carbon Aviation Brake Materials' developed by the team of Academician Huang Baiyun at Central South University won the first prize of the 2004 National Technology Invention Award in 2005, making China the fourth country to master the technology after the United States, Britain, and France. Jinbo brought the technology back to Yiyang, Hunan, for commercial application, and, relying on its carbon-based material foundation, has continued to expand application areas, forming a business layout covering eight strategic tracks.