1. Introduction
As the global climate change problem becomes increasingly serious, the carbon neutrality goal has become a common development vision pursued by all countries. In this context, the green development of the communications industry, as one of the important areas of energy consumption and carbon emissions, is particularly important. As a key component of the communications infrastructure, the development trend and role positioning of optical cables in the context of carbon neutrality deserve in-depth discussion.
2. Carbon neutrality background and the role of the optical cable industry
Driven by the goal of carbon neutrality, countries around the world are actively turning to clean energy. At the same time, new challenges and requirements are being raised for the optical cable industry. In this context, the optical cable industry not only needs to meet the basic needs of the communications industry, but also needs to play an active role in energy conservation, emission reduction, and low-carbon development. Specifically, the optical cable industry should reduce its own carbon emissions by optimizing material selection, structural design, and processes. At the same time, in the context of "optical fiber in and copper out", it should use the high-efficiency transmission and low-energy consumption characteristics of optical cables to reduce the energy consumption of the entire communication network. In addition, optical cable products should also provide stable and efficient network support for the development of renewable energy and promote the popularization and application of clean energy. For example, in the process of offshore wind power generation, through the data transmitted by optical cables, managers can accurately grasp the operating status, power generation, fault information, etc. of each wind turbine at the first time, so as to make timely adjustments and maintenance.
3. Analysis of domestic and overseas optical cable market trends
From a global perspective, with the rapid development of the global communications industry, the size of the optical cable market continues to expand. The British Commodity Research Institute predicts that global demand for optical cables will grow at a compound annual growth rate of about 4% from 2023 to 2027, and will exceed 650 million core kilometers by the end of 2027.
In terms of market structure, the global optical fiber and cable market share in 2023-2024 is shown in Figure 1. The global optical cable market is basically dominated by China, the United States, Japan, and Italy. Representative companies include China's YOFC, Hengtong, FiberHome, and Zhongtian, the United States' Corning, Japan's Furukawa Electric, Sumitomo Electric, and Fujikura, and Italy's Prysmian.
In terms of market trends, China has built about 70% of the world's 5G base stations. The development of technologies represented by 5G has become relatively mature, and the network layout has been basically established. Before 6G technology makes full progress and is commercialized on a large scale, the pace of construction in the wireless network field may slow down compared with previous years, but investment in computing power and data centers will remain high. In foreign markets, especially Europe, 4G is still the main technology, and 5G infrastructure construction is insufficient, so the market development potential is huge.
4. Characteristics of the European market
The main characteristics of the European market can be summarized as large market potential, strict environmental protection requirements and focus on technological innovation.
The market potential is huge, as operators represented by Deutsche Telekom DT are vigorously promoting the construction of fiber to the home (FTTH), striving to achieve fiber access to 10 million households by 2024 and to achieve fiber access to all households in Germany by 2030. The 5G and FTTH-related policies and investments of major European countries are shown in Table 1. The construction cycle of the whole Europe is expected to last until 2030.
The strict environmental protection requirements are reflected in the fact that operators such as Orange have aggressively included carbon emission indicators in the bidding assessment system. The latest bidding process has been adjusted from the original 50% for business and 50% for technology to 40% for business and technology, and 20% for carbon emissions. Europe's increasingly stringent environmental protection requirements are driving the development of communication cable products in the direction of low carbon and environmental protection.
Emphasis on technological innovation is reflected in the rapid upgrading of products in the European market, especially in the development of high-fiber core density and high-transmission rate optical cables. Limited by the high pipeline rental and construction costs in Europe, customers will constantly ask manufacturers to miniaturize optical cables. In some extreme cases, the pipeline rental is even higher than the cost of optical cables. Therefore, miniaturization of optical cables is a very important trend in the European market.
5. European practice of miniaturization of optical cables to reduce carbon emissions
In Europe, miniaturization of optical cables and high fiber core density have become urgent needs. In addition to saving pipeline rental and reducing labor costs caused by repeated construction, miniaturization of optical cables can also further reduce carbon emissions.
For the European market, YOFC keeps pace with the market and successfully develops more compact and efficient optical cable products. Taking the 144-core air-blown micro-cable as an example, the ultra-small air-blown micro-cable (cable diameter 4.5mm) made of small-diameter optical fiber can reach 60% of the conventional air-blown micro-cable (cable diameter 7.9mm). While significantly reducing the diameter of the optical cable, it also takes into account the stability of use in actual application scenarios.
By analyzing carbon emission data, researchers found that carbon emissions in the life cycle of optical cables are mainly composed of carbon emissions during the collection of raw materials, carbon emissions during the production process and carbon emissions during the transportation of finished products.
The carbon emission data of a European optical cable throughout its life cycle is shown in Table 2. The sum of the carbon emissions of these three parts accounts for 99.76% of the carbon emissions of the optical cable throughout its life cycle.
Among them, the most important is the carbon emissions in the raw material collection process (including the purchase and transportation stages of primary and secondary raw materials), which accounts for 88% of the total carbon emissions. Miniaturizing optical cables can greatly reduce material consumption and thus achieve the goal of carbon reduction.
Secondly, a smaller cable diameter is conducive to reducing the extrusion volume of the extruder per unit time (i.e., extrusion flow), reducing the machine's operating current, and saving electricity. When the maximum extrusion flow of the machine is constant, the same production line can also achieve a faster production speed, thereby improving production efficiency and reducing production costs.
Finally, after miniaturization, the finished optical cable has a smaller volume and weight, and more goods can be transported in the same transportation space, which can further reduce carbon emissions during transportation.
6. Optimize the production process to reduce carbon emissions
In order to achieve low-carbon production of optical cable products, it is necessary to optimize the manufacturing process. Specifically, carbon emissions in the production process can be reduced by using environmentally friendly recycled materials, applying energy-saving technologies, and improving production processes.
Japan's Fujikura uses ecological technology to produce a unique new environmentally friendly material and uses it as the outer sheath of the cable. This material is lighter than traditional PVC materials, can be recycled, has clearer colors, and is more weather-resistant and flexible.
Corning uses advanced energy-saving equipment and technology to achieve efficient use of energy in the production process. Taking circulating water cooling as an example, Corning implements a method called "natural cooling", which uses lower outside air to help water cooling.
In addition to saving energy, free cooling can also extend the service life of the machine by reducing the operating time of the cooling machine.
YOFC uses the coloring and secondary coating integrated line to integrate the two major processes of coloring and secondary coating in the optical cable production process. The colored optical fiber directly enters the secondary coating after curing, so that the optical fiber coloring and secondary coating can be completed on a new production line at the same time, which can improve production efficiency, optical cable manufacturing level and performance. At present, the equipment has been successfully used in Sichuan Lefei's expansion project on a large scale, with a maximum production speed of 800m/min.
7. Future development trend of optical cable products
Looking ahead, optical cable products will increase the use of environmentally friendly materials and energy-saving production lines, and further miniaturize. The technological evolution of the European optical cable market has always been a global technology trendsetter, and global optical cables will also develop in a greener and more environmentally friendly direction in the future. At the same time, optical cable companies will also increase their R&D investment and market expansion efforts to improve product performance and competitiveness, and contribute to the sustainable development of the global communications industry.
Source: Dongguan HX Fiber Technology Co., Ltd
1. Introduction
As the global climate change problem becomes increasingly serious, the carbon neutrality goal has become a common development vision pursued by all countries. In this context, the green development of the communications industry, as one of the important areas of energy consumption and carbon emissions, is particularly important. As a key component of the communications infrastructure, the development trend and role positioning of optical cables in the context of carbon neutrality deserve in-depth discussion.
2. Carbon neutrality background and the role of the optical cable industry
Driven by the goal of carbon neutrality, countries around the world are actively turning to clean energy. At the same time, new challenges and requirements are being raised for the optical cable industry. In this context, the optical cable industry not only needs to meet the basic needs of the communications industry, but also needs to play an active role in energy conservation, emission reduction, and low-carbon development. Specifically, the optical cable industry should reduce its own carbon emissions by optimizing material selection, structural design, and processes. At the same time, in the context of "optical fiber in and copper out", it should use the high-efficiency transmission and low-energy consumption characteristics of optical cables to reduce the energy consumption of the entire communication network. In addition, optical cable products should also provide stable and efficient network support for the development of renewable energy and promote the popularization and application of clean energy. For example, in the process of offshore wind power generation, through the data transmitted by optical cables, managers can accurately grasp the operating status, power generation, fault information, etc. of each wind turbine at the first time, so as to make timely adjustments and maintenance.
3. Analysis of domestic and overseas optical cable market trends
From a global perspective, with the rapid development of the global communications industry, the size of the optical cable market continues to expand. The British Commodity Research Institute predicts that global demand for optical cables will grow at a compound annual growth rate of about 4% from 2023 to 2027, and will exceed 650 million core kilometers by the end of 2027.
In terms of market structure, the global optical fiber and cable market share in 2023-2024 is shown in Figure 1. The global optical cable market is basically dominated by China, the United States, Japan, and Italy. Representative companies include China's YOFC, Hengtong, FiberHome, and Zhongtian, the United States' Corning, Japan's Furukawa Electric, Sumitomo Electric, and Fujikura, and Italy's Prysmian.
In terms of market trends, China has built about 70% of the world's 5G base stations. The development of technologies represented by 5G has become relatively mature, and the network layout has been basically established. Before 6G technology makes full progress and is commercialized on a large scale, the pace of construction in the wireless network field may slow down compared with previous years, but investment in computing power and data centers will remain high. In foreign markets, especially Europe, 4G is still the main technology, and 5G infrastructure construction is insufficient, so the market development potential is huge.
4. Characteristics of the European market
The main characteristics of the European market can be summarized as large market potential, strict environmental protection requirements and focus on technological innovation.
The market potential is huge, as operators represented by Deutsche Telekom DT are vigorously promoting the construction of fiber to the home (FTTH), striving to achieve fiber access to 10 million households by 2024 and to achieve fiber access to all households in Germany by 2030. The 5G and FTTH-related policies and investments of major European countries are shown in Table 1. The construction cycle of the whole Europe is expected to last until 2030.
The strict environmental protection requirements are reflected in the fact that operators such as Orange have aggressively included carbon emission indicators in the bidding assessment system. The latest bidding process has been adjusted from the original 50% for business and 50% for technology to 40% for business and technology, and 20% for carbon emissions. Europe's increasingly stringent environmental protection requirements are driving the development of communication cable products in the direction of low carbon and environmental protection.
Emphasis on technological innovation is reflected in the rapid upgrading of products in the European market, especially in the development of high-fiber core density and high-transmission rate optical cables. Limited by the high pipeline rental and construction costs in Europe, customers will constantly ask manufacturers to miniaturize optical cables. In some extreme cases, the pipeline rental is even higher than the cost of optical cables. Therefore, miniaturization of optical cables is a very important trend in the European market.
5. European practice of miniaturization of optical cables to reduce carbon emissions
In Europe, miniaturization of optical cables and high fiber core density have become urgent needs. In addition to saving pipeline rental and reducing labor costs caused by repeated construction, miniaturization of optical cables can also further reduce carbon emissions.
For the European market, YOFC keeps pace with the market and successfully develops more compact and efficient optical cable products. Taking the 144-core air-blown micro-cable as an example, the ultra-small air-blown micro-cable (cable diameter 4.5mm) made of small-diameter optical fiber can reach 60% of the conventional air-blown micro-cable (cable diameter 7.9mm). While significantly reducing the diameter of the optical cable, it also takes into account the stability of use in actual application scenarios.
By analyzing carbon emission data, researchers found that carbon emissions in the life cycle of optical cables are mainly composed of carbon emissions during the collection of raw materials, carbon emissions during the production process and carbon emissions during the transportation of finished products.
The carbon emission data of a European optical cable throughout its life cycle is shown in Table 2. The sum of the carbon emissions of these three parts accounts for 99.76% of the carbon emissions of the optical cable throughout its life cycle.
Among them, the most important is the carbon emissions in the raw material collection process (including the purchase and transportation stages of primary and secondary raw materials), which accounts for 88% of the total carbon emissions. Miniaturizing optical cables can greatly reduce material consumption and thus achieve the goal of carbon reduction.
Secondly, a smaller cable diameter is conducive to reducing the extrusion volume of the extruder per unit time (i.e., extrusion flow), reducing the machine's operating current, and saving electricity. When the maximum extrusion flow of the machine is constant, the same production line can also achieve a faster production speed, thereby improving production efficiency and reducing production costs.
Finally, after miniaturization, the finished optical cable has a smaller volume and weight, and more goods can be transported in the same transportation space, which can further reduce carbon emissions during transportation.
6. Optimize the production process to reduce carbon emissions
In order to achieve low-carbon production of optical cable products, it is necessary to optimize the manufacturing process. Specifically, carbon emissions in the production process can be reduced by using environmentally friendly recycled materials, applying energy-saving technologies, and improving production processes.
Japan's Fujikura uses ecological technology to produce a unique new environmentally friendly material and uses it as the outer sheath of the cable. This material is lighter than traditional PVC materials, can be recycled, has clearer colors, and is more weather-resistant and flexible.
Corning uses advanced energy-saving equipment and technology to achieve efficient use of energy in the production process. Taking circulating water cooling as an example, Corning implements a method called "natural cooling", which uses lower outside air to help water cooling.
In addition to saving energy, free cooling can also extend the service life of the machine by reducing the operating time of the cooling machine.
YOFC uses the coloring and secondary coating integrated line to integrate the two major processes of coloring and secondary coating in the optical cable production process. The colored optical fiber directly enters the secondary coating after curing, so that the optical fiber coloring and secondary coating can be completed on a new production line at the same time, which can improve production efficiency, optical cable manufacturing level and performance. At present, the equipment has been successfully used in Sichuan Lefei's expansion project on a large scale, with a maximum production speed of 800m/min.
7. Future development trend of optical cable products
Looking ahead, optical cable products will increase the use of environmentally friendly materials and energy-saving production lines, and further miniaturize. The technological evolution of the European optical cable market has always been a global technology trendsetter, and global optical cables will also develop in a greener and more environmentally friendly direction in the future. At the same time, optical cable companies will also increase their R&D investment and market expansion efforts to improve product performance and competitiveness, and contribute to the sustainable development of the global communications industry.
Source: Dongguan HX Fiber Technology Co., Ltd
