The trial operation of a domestically produced industrial plant for solution-based polyolefin elastomers marks another breakthrough in high-end chemical materials.
On March 22, 2026, Sinopec announced that my country's first fully domestically produced solution-polymer polyolefin elastomer (POE) industrial plant officially entered the trial operation phase at Tianjin Petrochemical. This plant is equipped with two 50,000-ton/year production lines, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons. Its process technology, equipment, and control system are all domestically produced, marking my country's achievement of complete self-sufficiency and control over raw materials and equipment in the field of high-performance polyolefin elastomers.
Polyolefin elastomers are high-end materials with unique properties, combining the processability of plastics with the high elasticity of Silicone Rubber (like Silicone Rubber Sheet and Silicone Rubber Rod), and are known in the industry as a "combination of plastics and rubber." They are key basic materials for producing flexible materials for mobile phone cases, encapsulation films for photovoltaic modules, lightweight components for new energy vehicles, and high-end shoe materials. For a long time, due to high technological barriers, my country has heavily relied on imports for polyolefin elastomers, with an import dependency rate still as high as 76% in 2025.
The Tianjin Petrochemical polyolefin elastomer plant, which has now entered trial operation, adopts an advanced solution polymerization process, which can flexibly adjust the molecular structure according to downstream demand to produce elastomer products with different performance grades. This will not only effectively alleviate the reliance of my country's strategic emerging industries such as photovoltaics and new energy vehicles on imports of this material, but also provide a solid guarantee for the supply chain security of China's high-end manufacturing industry.
The technological barriers to solution-based POE production mainly lie in three aspects:
Catalyst system: Highly active and selective specialized catalysts are required to ensure precise control of the polymer chain structure;
Polymerization process: Solution-based processes are extremely sensitive to process parameters such as temperature, pressure, and concentration, with a narrow operating window;
Post-processing and devolatilization: The transportation of high-viscosity melts, solvent recovery, and product granulation place stringent requirements on equipment and automation systems.
The trial operation of the Tianjin Petrochemical plant signifies that my country has overcome all the aforementioned key technological challenges, forming a complete domestically produced process package from catalyst preparation, polymerization reaction, solvent recovery to product granulation. Particularly noteworthy is its original breakthrough in polymerization technology, enabling flexible control of the product structure to meet the differentiated needs of various application scenarios.
The rapid growth of the polyolefin elastomer (POE) market is primarily driven by the robust growth of strategic emerging industries such as photovoltaics and new energy vehicles.
According to industry statistics, my country's PEE consumption is projected to increase from 640,000 tons in 2021 to 1.11 million tons in 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of 14.7%. China has become the world's largest PEE consumption market. Photovoltaic module encapsulation films are the largest application area, accounting for over 40% of total consumption.
With the continued advancement of the "dual-carbon" goals, photovoltaic installed capacity continues to grow rapidly. Data from the National Energy Administration shows that my country's newly installed photovoltaic capacity is expected to exceed 150GW in 2025, corresponding to a demand of approximately 600,000 tons of POE film. The trend towards lightweighting in new energy vehicles is also driving the increasing application of POE in components such as battery pack seals and interior elastomers.
The trial operation of this domestically produced equipment will have a profound impact on the domestic plastic sheet and rod industry and related downstream industries:
1. Reduced Raw Material Costs and Supply Risks: Imported POE prices have remained high for a long time, and supply stability is insufficient due to geopolitical and shipping factors. After the release of domestic production capacity, it is expected to gradually stabilize market prices, providing downstream sheet, film, and sealing component manufacturers with more cost-effective raw material options, while reducing the risk of production interruptions due to overseas supply disruptions.
2. Promoted Innovation in High-End Sheet Products: Polyolefin elastomers, due to their excellent toughness, low-temperature resistance, and aging resistance, are ideal modifying components for manufacturing high-performance engineering plastic sheets. The mass production of domestically produced POE will encourage more sheet manufacturers to develop "POE-reinforced" series products, such as high-impact ABS Sheet, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of domestically produced sheets in the high-end market.
3. Facilitated the Lightweighting Process of "Replacing Steel with Plastics": In the automotive, rail transportation, and other fields, lightweighting is a clear technological direction. POE, as a high-quality toughening agent, can significantly improve the impact strength and durability of plastic sheets, enabling them to better replace metals in structural components, interior panels, and other applications. A stable supply of domestically produced POE will provide crucial material support for this substitution process.
4. Driving Upgrading of Supporting Equipment and Technology Full-chain localization not only signifies a breakthrough in materials technology but also marks a new height in my country's design, manufacturing, and integration capabilities for high-end chemical equipment. This will drive the overall upgrading of related machinery, instrumentation, automation, and other industrial chain segments, forming a virtuous cycle.
Our country has achieved a crucial leap from catching up to keeping pace in the field of polyolefin elastomers. This is not only a breakthrough in materials technology, but also a vivid demonstration of the improved self-sufficiency and controllability of China's high-end manufacturing supply chain.
For plastic sheet and rod manufacturers in the midstream of the industrial chain, this means a more stable and cost-effective supply of high-performance raw materials, as well as broader space for product innovation.