From An EVA Particle To See The Road Of Innovation And Breakthrough Of China's New Materials
"Each EVA particle may look inconspicuous, but it is actually the crystallization of innovation in China's new materials industry." Zheng Yueming, chairman of Levima New Materials, held a bottle of white and slightly transparent particles and told China Securities Journal reporters.
EVA has become one of the heroes behind the rise of China's photovoltaic industry. Levima New Materials broke the long-term technology monopoly of foreign countries and took the lead in developing EVA photovoltaic film materials in China, promoting import substitution, filling the market gap, helping China's photovoltaic industry to flourish, and becoming a microcosm of China's new materials industry innovation breakthrough.
At the construction site of Levima Green Integrated Project in Tengzhou City, Shandong Province, Xie Yaping, senior vice president of Levima New Materials and commander-in-chief of the project construction headquarters, told China Securities Journal reporters, "The 200,000 tons/year EVA device is under construction. What we see now is the overall steel structure. The project is expected to be capped in October this year."
Breaking the international monopoly
EVA, scientifically known as ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, is an advanced polymer material. With the rapid development of the photovoltaic industry, EVA photovoltaic film materials have been widely used. At present, photovoltaic film is the largest downstream application field of EVA, accounting for 54.6%. At the same time, the demand for EVA in the application fields of wires and cables, foaming, hot melt adhesives, etc. has maintained a steady growth.
As a key photovoltaic material, EVA production technology and processes have long been monopolized by international giants such as STR of the United States, Mitsui Chemicals of Japan, Bridgestone of Japan, and Etimex of Germany. Before 2020, the import dependence has remained above 60%.
Through dedicated research and development, Levitra New Materials took the lead in developing EVA photovoltaic film materials in China at the end of 2015, which greatly reduced costs and promoted the rapid development of China's photovoltaic industry. At present, Chinese new material companies represented by Levitra New Materials have occupied the vast majority of the global photovoltaic film material market.
"When we started the EVA project, the domestic demand was more than 200,000 tons, and the production capacity was only tens of thousands of tons. We believe that the new energy industry represented by photovoltaics has great prospects, and we can make great achievements in the EVA photovoltaic film material market." Zheng Yueming told China Securities Journal reporters that the correct strategy and strong R&D capabilities have enabled the company to seize the opportunity of rapid development of the photovoltaic industry in the past few years.
Lianhong New Materials adopts a model that combines independent research and development with cooperative development. It has a high-level research and development team, has established a domestic leading advanced polymer material research and development platform and a special fine material synthesis and application platform, has built a bioengineering platform and a new battery material research and development application platform, has mastered a number of core technologies, and has a number of technological achievements that are at the international and domestic leading level. Lianhong New Materials has become a microcosm of China's new material companies achieving transformation and upgrading through research and development innovation.
After years of development, the overall self-sufficiency rate of my country's new chemical materials industry has reached 61%, and the industry scale has exceeded one trillion yuan. It is estimated that by 2028, my country's new chemical materials production capacity will reach 50 million tons/year, forming a number of internationally competitive technologies and products.
Zheng Yueming said, "We must be aware that the current domestic new materials industry still has serious homogeneity, overcapacity in the middle and low-end, and insufficient high-end capacity. Developed countries and regions such as the United States, Europe, and Japan are still the first echelon of the global chemical new materials industry, and their high-end materials have obvious advantages. The variety and performance of my country's new chemical materials are still difficult to fully meet the needs of the high-end market. There is still a certain gap compared with the international advanced level in the development of new materials, especially the research and development and application of high-end new materials."
Building high-end production capacity
While increasing technological innovation breakthroughs, accelerating the construction of high-end production capacity, promoting product structure optimization, and meeting market demand have become the top priorities for the development of China's new materials industry, and Lianhong New Materials is working hard for this.
Driving in the Lunan High-tech Chemical Park in Tengzhou City, Shandong Province, tall chemical facilities come into view. At the Lianhong Green New Energy Materials and Biodegradable Materials Integration Project site, tower cranes operate in an orderly manner and engineering vehicles shuttle back and forth.
It is reported that the total investment of Lianhong Green Integrated Project is 12.5 billion yuan, which has been included in the major projects of Shandong Province, including 200,000 tons/year EVA photovoltaic film material device, 300,000 tons/year propylene oxide PO device, 50,000 tons/year PPC biodegradable material device, etc. "The integrated project will be completed and put into production in 2025. The 20,000 tons/year ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene UHMWPE and 90,000 tons/year vinyl acetate VA combined device and 100,000 tons/year lithium battery solvent-carbonate combined device located in the same park have been completed and put into production." Xie Yaping introduced to reporters at the project site.
It is worth mentioning that the company's existing EVA device adopts kettle process technology with a production capacity of more than 150,000 tons/year, and the 200,000 tons/year EVA device under construction adopts tubular process technology. After the new capacity is put into production, the company's EVA capacity will exceed 350,000 tons/year, which is conducive to improving production operation flexibility and flexible layout of product structure.
"Among our current projects under construction, the integrated project of Lianhong Green has the largest investment and the most devices." Xie Yaping told reporters, "The company is carrying out a new round of industrial investment in accordance with the established strategy, using green new technologies developed independently or in cooperation to build a number of high-end projects such as new energy photovoltaic materials, new energy battery materials, biodegradable and bio-based materials, semiconductor electronic materials, and special materials."
With the gradual commissioning of the above projects, Lianhong New Materials' core competitiveness will be significantly enhanced, and it is expected to achieve better performance.
POE is the second largest category of photovoltaic film raw materials. According to different application requirements and scenarios, it forms an effective complement to EVA in the supply pattern of photovoltaic film materials. POE photovoltaic films have unique advantages in anti-PID, aging resistance, and water barrier properties, and are mainly used in the encapsulation of new photovoltaic cells such as N-type batteries and BC batteries.
In the product exhibition hall of Lianhong New Materials, Zheng Yueming told reporters that the company is actively deploying POE business while consolidating the competitive advantage of EVA products. "The planned 300,000 tons/year POE project adopts a full set of independently developed process technologies to produce a series of high-end products such as POE photovoltaic film materials and toughening materials. The first phase of the 100,000 tons/year POE project is expected to be completed and put into production in 2025."
Opening up growth space
As an important foundation for supporting the development of modern manufacturing, the research and development level and industrialization scale of new materials have become an important indicator of a country's economic and social development and scientific and technological progress.
As an important part of new quality productivity, the development of new materials industry helps to enhance the resilience and competitiveness of the industrial chain supply chain. Zhongyuan Securities believes that the development of artificial intelligence, new materials, new energy, and digital economy has become a trend, and the new materials industry will have long-term growth with certainty.
Take EVA as an example. Although the photovoltaic industry is facing a cold winter, the price of EVA photovoltaic film materials has declined. But Zheng Yueming said that the market demand for EVA will continue to grow in the long run. At present, about 32% of domestic EVA products still need to be imported.
According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the scale of China's new materials market is expected to reach 10 trillion yuan in 2025; by 2035, the overall strength of my country's new materials industry will leap to the forefront of the world, and the new materials industry development system will be basically established. Zhongyuan Securities believes that driven by policies, domestic substitution for imports and iterative upgrades in the manufacturing industry will bring new demand, and the growth space of the new materials industry will continue to open up.
