In December 2020, Hanwha Solutions, a unit of South Korea's Hanwha Group, took over Cimarron Composites, an American company that has developed Neptune, a carbon fiber reinforced polymer tank capable of transporting 1,200 kilograms of hydrogen gas in a standard 40-foot container. Hanwha Solutions would use Cimarron's technology for aerospace, ships and urban air mobility.
"Carbon fiber is a key material for responding to climate change and promoting a hydrogen economy," Hyosung Advanced Materials CEO Hwang Jung-mo said. Hyosung Group, which is the first South Korean company to produce carbon fiber, has promised to expand production at its carbon fiber plant in Jeonju.
Carbon materials take numerous forms including graphite, carbon fiber, carbon nanotube, graphene and fullerene. Their applications include electronic, electromagnetic, electrochemical, environmental and biomedical applications. President Moon Jae-in has called for all-out support to nurture carbon fiber as South Korea's new growth engine, saying it would become a strategic national industry to reduce dependence on core materials from Japan.