Wanhua Chemical's technological innovation has yielded fruitful results. Recently, Wanhua Chemical's 200,000 tons of high-end polyolefin elastomer POE project has achieved full process connection and successfully produced qualified products.
POE is a high-performance polymer material, mainly used in the photovoltaic and automotive industries. Previously, POE was mainly monopolized by overseas companies. The successful commissioning of Wanhua Chemical's POE project has changed the competitive landscape of the POE industry and ended the long-term dependence on imports of POE products in my country.
Bai Wenxi, vice chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Alliance, told the Securities Daily reporter: "The successful industrialization of Wanhua Chemical's POE further highlights the role of technological innovation in promoting industrial innovation. Wanhua Chemical has always focused on technological innovation, which is also an important driving force for Wanhua Chemical to develop from a small leather factory to a global chemical giant."
Accelerating the localization of POE
As a sub-category of high-end polyolefins, POE has excellent performance and is widely used. It is mostly used for the modification of plastics or polymer toughening materials and then used in the production of automotive parts, home appliance housings, etc., as well as foaming materials, cable materials, photovoltaic encapsulation films and other fields.
From the domestic situation, benefiting from the rapid growth of the photovoltaic industry, the photovoltaic industry will be the largest downstream consumer of POE in my country in 2022, accounting for about 35%, followed by automobiles and foaming materials.
my country's POE products mainly rely on imports. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, my country's imports increased from 224,400 tons to 860,000 tons from 2017 to 2023, with an annual compound growth rate of more than 25%. The main driving force for this growth is the vigorous development of the photovoltaic industry, and the growth in demand for photovoltaic films has significantly promoted the POE industry.
Against this background, the localization of POE is imminent. The "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Raw Materials Industry" issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Natural Resources emphasized that the petrochemical industry should promote the research and development of high-end polyolefin products such as metallocene; the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation also proposed in the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Chemical New Materials Industry" that it is necessary to focus on improving the localization capacity of high-end polyolefin plastics.
"The successful commissioning of Wanhua Chemical's POE project is an important milestone in China's new chemical materials field, marking a major breakthrough in my country's POE production technology and breaking the foreign monopoly." Bai Wenxi told the Securities Daily reporter that this will not only help accelerate the localization process of POE, but also help enhance the independent innovation capabilities and core competitiveness of my country's chemical industry and promote the progress of the entire industry.
"From the perspective of the industrial chain, the commissioning and capacity increase of Wanhua Chemical's POE project will have a positive impact on downstream industries such as photovoltaics, automobiles, footwear materials, and cables." Zhang Yi, CEO of iMedia Consulting, believes that on the one hand, the commissioning of Wanhua Chemical's POE project can provide downstream industries with a more stable and reliable supply of raw materials and enhance the autonomy and controllability of the entire industrial chain; on the other hand, with the increase in POE capacity and the acceleration of localization, it will also help force POE to reduce prices and promote the coordinated development of the industrial chain.
Promoting industrial innovation with technological innovation
The research and development and industrialization of POE this time is just a microcosm of Wanhua Chemical's use of technological innovation to promote industrial innovation. MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) is the most important raw material for the production of polyurethane. It is called the "fifth plastic" and is regarded as a treasure by the West. The export of technology is strictly prohibited. In order to master the production technology of MDI, the company's R&D team disassembled and assembled a large device containing hundreds of thousands of parts, and finally successfully opened the "black box" in 1996. The company's annual production of 15,000 tons of MDI equipment was successfully tested once, and my country successfully broke through the 60-year foreign technology blockade.
ADI (alicyclic diisocyanate) is the core material for the preparation of high-end PU. It is widely used in coatings such as aircraft, high-speed railways, and high-end equipment. It is known as the "crown jewel of the polyurethane industry." In order to develop ADI, Wanhua Chemical has set up teams three times, and it took 16 years to finally break the foreign monopoly on this technology. The company also spent 10 years on the research and development of another advanced material, nylon 12.
For more than 40 years, Wanhua Chemical has promoted industrial innovation with scientific and technological innovation, and has developed from a synthetic leather factory to an international chemical giant. In 2023, the company's operating income will reach 175.3 billion yuan, and its net profit will exceed 10 billion yuan for seven consecutive years, ranking 18th among the top 50 chemical companies in the world.
Liao Zengtai, Party Secretary and Chairman of Wanhua Chemical, told the reporter of Securities Daily: "At present, Wanhua has 14 world-first technologies and has conquered 47 international leading technologies, helping many new chemical materials in my country to achieve independent control."
At present, Wanhua Chemical's seventh-generation MDI technology with lower energy consumption and higher quality and the new generation of TDI technology have been successfully industrialized. Many innovative polyether products are providing customers with more efficient and environmentally friendly experience. Wanhua's polyurethane industry technology continues to lead the world; a series of battery material technologies have made breakthroughs, and Wanhua's second growth curve represented by battery materials is also accelerating its business.
"Wanhua Chemical is exploring more cutting-edge fields with the power of technological innovation to enable a better life for mankind." Liao Zengtai said.