At the CHINAPLAS 2024 China International Rubber and Plastics Exhibition held in Shanghai on April 23, Wanhua Chemical announced that its first phase of 200000 tons/year POE (polyolefin elastomer) project is expected to be put into operation in the first half of this year, and the second phase of 400000 tons/year POE project at Penglai Base has already started construction and is expected to be completed and put into operation by the end of 2025. By then, Wanhua's total POE production capacity will reach 600000 tons/year.
POE, as a high-end polyolefin material, has high technological barriers and unique performance advantages, and can be widely used in many fields such as photovoltaics, modification, medical, packaging, etc. After years of technological breakthroughs, Wanhua Chemical has continued to innovate and break through, launching WANSUPER POE at this exhibition, and working together with six photovoltaic film production leaders including Hangzhou Foster Applied Materials Co., Ltd. to create a new ecosystem for the photovoltaic film industry.
Hua Weiqi, Executive Vice President of Wanhua Chemical, stated that Wanhua Chemical actively responds to the "dual carbon" challenge, promotes technological innovation in the new energy industry, and is committed to providing customers with high-performance, high-quality, and innovative materials to help the photovoltaic industry move towards higher efficiency and broader application areas. This strategic cooperation will not only accelerate the pace of product technology innovation, but also provide a platform for the entire industry to complement each other's advantages, share resources, and achieve win-win cooperation.
With the rapid development of new energy, POE materials have a very broad application prospect in the field of energy storage. Wanhua Chemical relies on stable and reliable raw material supply, excellent and efficient manufacturing capabilities, and full lifecycle product development advantages to develop photovoltaic grade POE products. This product performs well in optical performance, mechanical performance, processing performance, and can fully meet the needs of customers and the industry. The photovoltaic adhesive film made of WANSUPER POE has high water vapor barrier rate, good weather resistance, excellent transparency, and strong PID resistance, which can significantly improve the power generation efficiency and reliability of photovoltaic modules, and help the sustainable development of the photovoltaic industry. Based on cooperation in the photovoltaic industry chain, Wanhua Chemical established a joint venture with Foster and Trina Solar in January this year, with POE particle manufacturing and sales as the main body. Through collaborative innovation, research and development, and production, a new ecosystem of POE adhesive film is built.
In the automotive industry, lightweighting has become a trend. Currently, one of the important ways to lightweight automobile bodies is to use lightweight and efficient composite material components. Wanhua Chemical's WANSUPER POE material has low density, excellent weather resistance, and good compatibility with polypropylene (PP) materials. Its blend modification material with PP can be widely used in many automotive components, such as bumpers, airbag boxes, sound insulation pads, etc. With the continuous increase in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles and the sustained growth of demand in the automotive manufacturing industry, POE demand will continue to grow rapidly.
In addition, POE products can also be used for shoe material foaming, providing consumers with a lightweight and comfortable experience with excellent resilience and low density; In the field of cables, POE can be used as a toughening modification for the production of wires and cables, hot melt adhesives, and cable sheath materials. At the same time, Wanhua is also deeply developing the application of POE in medical treatment, special lotion, packaging and other fields.
Wanhua Chemical stated that its POE products have undergone 3 years of market validation since the pilot plant was put into operation, and have been recognized by multiple industry-leading customers. In the future, Wanhua will continue to optimize the process formula and strive for excellence to create high-performance, full range POE product solutions for customers.
