The global composites industry is experiencing rapid expansion, with increasing demand for lightweight, durable, and corrosion-resistant materials across sectors such as construction, transportation, renewable energy, and infrastructure. According to a recent market analysis, the broader fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites market is projected to grow from roughly US$105 billion in 2025 to about US$137.7 billion by 2030 — driven by factors like electric-vehicle adoption, infrastructure investment, and emissions-reduction targets. 

Within that growth, the subsector using pultruded profiles — continuous, fiber-reinforced composite shapes such as plates, beams or structural sections — is seeing particularly strong momentum. The global pultrusion market alone was valued at US$3.9 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach US$6.3 billion by 2035, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 7.8%. 

In this context, carbon–glass hybrid pultruded profiles stand out as a compelling middle ground: offering many of the performance benefits of carbon fiber composites (strength, stiffness, lightweight) while maintaining cost and manufacturing advantages closer to glass-fiber composites. According to recent market-outlook commentary, hybrid composites combining carbon and glass (or thermoplastics) are gaining traction for applications where “full carbon-fiber performance” is not strictly required. 

That’s where Zhenshi’s offering becomes especially relevant.

Zhejiang Zhenshi: Leveraging Hybrid Pultruded Plates for Diverse Applications

Zhenshi — through its product line of pultruded plates — provides carbon-glass hybrid profiles that meet a growing set of demands: structural strength, corrosion resistance, dimensional stability, and customizable geometry. Their technology reflects a broader shift in the composites industry toward hybridization and tailored manufacturing.

Such hybrid profiles are well positioned to meet demand across many sectors:

Construction & Infrastructure: Hybrid FRP pultruded components can substitute for steel or wooden structural elements — offering long-term durability, corrosion resistance, and lighter weight, which simplifies installation and reduces maintenance.

Transportation & Automotive: As the market for lightweighting grows — particularly for electric vehicles (EVs) — hybrid pultruded profiles offer an attractive compromise: significant weight reduction (improving efficiency) without the full cost premium of pure carbon composites. Market analyses of pultruded carbon plates note hybrid systems as a growing competitive segment. 

Renewable Energy & Utilities: The rise in renewable energy installations (e.g. wind turbines, solar frame supports) and growing infrastructure needs mean more demand for high-strength, weather-resistant, lightweight profiles. Pultruded composites — including hybrids — are increasingly used in these contexts. 

Moreover, the manufacturing flexibility of pultrusion — historically limited to simple shapes — has evolved. In 2025, industry observers argue that “mass customization” of pultruded profiles is becoming mainstream: companies can now request tailored geometry, cross-sections, and performance specifications to suit bespoke applications. 

For Zhenshi, this means their hybrid pultruded plates could be adapted for a wide variety of use-cases — from structural elements in construction to internal frames in electric vehicles, or supporting members in solar / renewable energy installations.

Market Forces Favor Hybrid Composites: Cost, Performance, Sustainability

Several recent developments amplify the attractiveness of hybrid pultruded profiles:

Cost-effectiveness: Pure carbon-fiber composites remain expensive. Hybrid carbon-glass or glass-fiber based composites allow many of the structural gains (strength-to-weight, corrosion resistance) at lower cost — a critical factor for broader industrial adoption. 

Regulatory & Sustainability Trends: As infrastructure investments rise globally (e.g., in retrofitting bridges, building resilient structures, expanding renewable energy), materials that combine durability, low maintenance, and long service life are increasingly in demand. FRP composites — including hybrids — fit the bill. 

Manufacturing Evolutions: Advances in pultrusion equipment and processes enable faster production, more complex geometries, and custom profiles. This reduces lead time and makes composites viable for larger, non-standard structural parts. 

Shifting Industry Priorities: Industries such as automotive, infrastructure, and renewable energy are under pressure to reduce weight, emissions, and maintenance costs — without compromising safety or performance. This drives composite adoption, especially hybrid solutions that balance performance and cost.

Challenges & Headwinds — What Hybrid Pultrusion Must Overcome

Despite promising demand, hybrid pultruded composites still face challenges:

Competition from alternative materials: Some advanced metal alloys (e.g., aluminum-lithium) now deliver 85–90% of carbon fiber’s strength-to-weight ratio at 30–40% lower cost — posing a competitive threat to hybrid composites. 

Perception & certification hurdles: For certain structural or safety-critical applications (e.g. buildings, bridges, aerospace), designers may still prefer traditional materials until hybrid composites accumulate long-term track records and standardized certifications. The more conservative sectors may resist adopting new composite-based profiles. 

Cost of raw materials and processing vs. glass composites: While hybrids are cheaper than pure carbon, they remain more expensive than pure glass-fiber composites or conventional materials — which constrains adoption in cost-sensitive markets. 

Manufacturing skill and process complexity: Producing high-quality hybrid pultruded profiles requires expertise and precise control over resin mixing, fiber alignment, curing, and quality inspection — which can be a barrier for smaller producers. 

These headwinds suggest that while hybrid pultrusion is growing, widespread adoption will likely depend on continued improvements in cost-efficiency, certification standards, and manufacturing scalability.