The celebration not only strengthened the cohesion and identity inside and outside the industry, but also provided a platform for the polyurethane industry to showcase innovation achievements and share development experience. At the same time, it also encourages more enterprises to pay attention to the future of the industry and promote technological innovation and industrial upgrading.
Led by Wanhua Chemical, the global isocyanate expansion continues
In 2024, companies such as Wanhua Chemical announced plans to further expand their isocyanate (MDI, TDI, HDI, etc.) production capacity to meet the continued growth in domestic and foreign markets. Among them, Wanhua Fujian MDI will be expanded from 800,000 tons to 1.5 million tons; Fujian plans to build a 360,000-ton TDI project, and Ningbo plans to build a 100,000-ton HDI project. Chongqing BASF's polyurethane MDI optimization and upgrading project has entered the trial operation stage. BASF Chongqing has an existing MDI production capacity of 400,000 mt/year, and the expansion will bring the production capacity of the site to 530,000 mt/year. On October 23, Mitsui Chemicals announced that the expanded MDI production facility of the joint venture Kumho Mitsui Chemicals in South Korea had commenced commercial operation at the end of September, increasing production capacity from 410,000 tons/year to 610,000 tons/year.
Wanhua Chemical and BASF's expansion plans will strengthen China's position in the global isocyanate market and will also intensify competition in the market. This will prompt other companies to strengthen technology research and development and market expansion to cope with the increasingly fierce market competition. At the same time, the expansion will also help to meet the demand for high-performance polyurethane materials in domestic and foreign markets.
Significant progress has been made in the development of polyurethane green additives
In recent years, the development of polyurethane green additives has achieved remarkable results, among which bio-based additives use renewable resources as raw materials, which helps to reduce carbon emissions. The development of polyurethane green additives developed by Mesid Chemical and others not only meets the market demand for environmentally friendly materials, but also promotes the sustainable development of the polyurethane industry. On July 10, the signing ceremony of cooperation between M&D Chemical, Covestro and the Institute of Forest Products Chemical Industry of the Chinese Academy of Forestry was held at the Covestro Asia-Pacific Innovation Center in Shanghai.
The development results of polyurethane green additives have received extensive attention, which not only promotes the green transformation of the polyurethane industry, but also promotes the development of related industrial chains. At the same time, the application of green additives also improves the added value and market competitiveness of polyurethane materials. In the future, with the increasingly strict environmental protection regulations and the increase in consumer demand for environmentally friendly materials, the market prospect of polyurethane green additives will be broader.