Driven by the terminal market, the process of domestic substitution in the domestic nucleating agent market is accelerating

Nucleating agent refers to a new functional additive suitable for incomplete crystalline plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene. According to different structures, nucleating agents can be divided into transparent nucleating agents, stiffening nucleating agents, and β-crystalline toughening nucleating agents. The main function of the nucleating agent is to increase the crystallization rate and density of incomplete crystalline plastics and promote the miniaturization of the grain size, thereby achieving the purpose of improving the transparency, impact resistance, aesthetics, high temperature resistance, creep resistance and other properties of the product. .

In the context of increasingly prominent safety and environmental protection needs in markets such as medical devices, baby products, household appliances, building materials, auto parts, electronic and electrical materials, and food contact materials, nucleating agents serve as the main functional additives required in the production of raw materials. , the domestic market demand for nucleating agents has shown continued growth. According to the “China Nucleating Agent Industry Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report 2022-2026” released by the Industrial Research Center , the domestic nucleating agent market demand in 2021 will be approximately 8,650 tons, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%.

Nucleating agents were first studied by Japanese researchers around 1970. After more than 50 years of development, foreign nucleating agent production technology has become mature. my country’s nucleating agent industry started around 1990, and its start-up time lags behind that of foreign countries. nearly 20 years. Since foreign manufacturers have first-mover advantages in the research and development of nucleating agents and have strong technical and experience reserves, currently in the domestic nucleating agent market, foreign giants such as Milliken, New Japan Physical and Chemical, Adico, and Kyowa Chemicals Businesses dominate.

However, in recent years, driven by the rapid development of the domestic high-performance resin and modified plastics industry and the continued growth of end market demand, local companies such as Chenghe Technology, Zhichu Chemical, and Shanghai Qirun have continued to make breakthroughs in relevant technologies, and the production volume of nucleating agents has increased. The number continues to increase, which in turn promotes the accelerating process of domestic substitution in the domestic nucleating agent market. Domestic nucleating agent production in 2021 is approximately 2,360 tons, a year-on-year increase of 25.1%.

Judging from the current supply and demand situation, the current supply and demand structure of nucleating agents in my country is unbalanced, domestic production capacity is difficult to meet the growing application market demand, and the domestic market is still relatively dependent on imported products. In the future, under the background of continuous upgrading of terminal market demand and increasing environmental protection efforts, the domestic market demand for modified plastics and high-performance resins will continue to grow, which will drive the rapid development of the nucleating agent industry. Local nucleating agent companies will usher in good development opportunities. . In the future, as local companies seize opportunities and improve technology, the process of import substitution of domestic nucleating agents will continue to accelerate.

Industrial analysts personnel stated that nucleating agents, as functional additives for modified plastics and high-performance resins, continue to be in demand in the end market. Driven by growth and against the background of continuous breakthroughs in key technologies by local companies, the process of domestic substitution in the domestic market continues to accelerate. Since the current domestic nucleating agent industry started relatively late, there is still a large gap between local companies and advanced foreign companies, and there is still huge room for growth in the industry in the future.