1. Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) industry overview
Polyether ether ketone (PEEK for short) is a new type of semi-crystalline aromatic thermoplastic engineering plastic successfully researched and developed by the British Imperial Chemical (ICI) in the late 1970s, because it not only has high-grade heat resistance, Radiation resistance, corrosion resistance, and excellent dimensional stability and electrical properties, as well as excellent processing performance and many other advantages.
At present, there are three types of commercial special engineering plastics, namely polyimide, polyarylether and polyarylate. Among them, the typical representatives of thermoplastic special engineering plastics are polyarylethers, mainly including polyaryletherketone and polyarylate. Aryl ether sulfone and polyarylene sulfide. At present, there are three main types of PEEK: pure resin PEEK, glass fiber modified PEEK and carbon fiber modified PEEK.
As one of the world's most recognized thermoplastic materials with the highest performance, polyether ether ketone (PEEK) has been widely used in aerospace, electronic and electrical, automotive, industrial, and medical fields.
2. Analysis of the current market situation of the global polyether ether ketone industry
Since the commercial production of the global PEEK industry in 1978, the production capacity has been continuously improved, and the consumption has also grown steadily. According to statistics, the global PEEK consumption has reached 5834 tons in 2019. From the perspective of the consumption of PEEK in major regions of the world, 2019 The annual PEEK consumption in Europe is 2060 tons and it is expected to reach 2800 tons in 2022. The PEEK consumption in North America is 1550 tons and it is expected to reach 1755 tons in 2022. The PEEK consumption in China is 1,400 tons and it is expected to reach 1950 tons in 2022. The consumption of PEEK in Asia Pacific and other regions, Japan and other regions were 345 tons, 300 tons and 179 tons respectively.
PEEK has been widely used in high technology in the fields of aerospace, nuclear power, electronic information, medical care, oil exploration, and automobiles. According to statistics, the global consumption of PEEK in the industrial sector in 2019 was 1,476 tons, a year-on-year increase of 9%. The consumption of PEEK in electronics, transportation, medical and other fields was 1,424 tons, 2,346 tons, and 589 tons, respectively, and the growth rates were respectively 8.9%, 9%, 9.1%.
3. Analysis of the current market situation of China's polyether ether ketone industry
With the rapid development of my country's automobile, electronic appliances and construction industries, my country has become the country with the fastest growing demand for engineering plastics in the world. According to statistics, as of 2019, the demand for my country's engineering plastics industry has grown to 5.9 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.55%.
China is a rapidly growing area of PEEK demand in Southeast Asia and one of the world's important markets. According to statistics, China's PEEK consumption has increased from 80 tons in 2012 to 1,400 tons in 2019, with a compound growth rate of 50.5% from 2012 to 2019.
4. Analysis of the global competition pattern of PEEK industry
So far, Victrex is the world's largest PEEK producer, and its production capacity ranks first in the world. In 2019, Victrex's PEEK production capacity was 7,150 tons/year, accounting for 60% of the world's total production capacity.
The world's second largest PEEK producer is Solvay in Belgium. After Solvay acquired the polymer division of Gharda Chemical Company in India in 2005, it has the production capacity of high-performance engineering plastics including PEEK. Solvay and Apple are a strategic partnership. All PEEK materials in the production of Apple mobile phones are provided by Solvay. In 2019, Soville's PEEK production capacity is 1,500 tons/year.
Germany`s Evonik is the world’s third largest PEEK producer after Victrex and Solvay. In early 2005, Evonik established Jida in China due to its cooperation with my country’s Jilin University on the PEEK project. The Degussa joint venture, now renamed Jida Evonik High Performance Polymers Co., Ltd., is a German-owned foreign-invested enterprise. In 2019, Evonik's PEEK production capacity was 1,250 tons/year.
There are currently more than 10 high-end polyether ether ketone (PEEL) material manufacturers in China
China started the research and development of PEEK technology in the 1980s. Universities and research institutes are the leading forces. At present, China's PEEK production capacity is mainly concentrated in JLJD Special Plastic Engineering Research Co., Ltd. and JLZY Polymer Material Technology Group, accounting for about 70% of China's total production capacity Among them, JLZY has a production capacity of 1,000 tons/year, ranking first in China.
5. Development trend of polyether ether ketone (PEEL) industry
With the rapid development of global technology and economy, countries around the world are increasingly demanding high-efficiency, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly materials in various fields. For example, aviation materials and auto parts in the transportation industry tend to be lightweight, thereby reducing fuel consumption. Improve flight efficiency, reduce flight costs, and reduce CO2 emissions. Based on the excellent comprehensive performance of PEEK materials, it can provide good reliability and safety for aircraft, rockets, and automobile bodies.
Electronic information technology has developed rapidly in recent years, and electronic components are developing in the direction of integration and miniaturization. PEEK resin materials can provide an ideal solution for the selection of related materials. With the improvement of people's material living standards, health becomes more and more important. It is becoming more and more important. At the same time, with the increase of the global aging population, the demand for global medical services has surged, and people’s requirements for medical materials are getting higher and higher, and they are no longer satisfied with traditional metal materials or titanium alloy materials. Its unique properties have huge market potential. At the same time, with the emergence of 3D printing technology, the application field of PEEK resin has been broadened, and the market prospect of related PEEK resin is broad.
As a key guarantee for leading industries in the national economy and high-end manufacturing and defense industries, new materials are the focus of strategic competition among countries. The strategic position of China's new materials industry is constantly improving. The raw materials industry has reached a critical period of transformation and development. It is necessary for everyone to work together to find new development directions and prospects to achieve transformation and upgrading and sustainable development as soon as possible. Facing the surplus of traditional industries and the development of emerging industries Insufficient, the raw material industry is developing towards new materials, promoting the upgrading of key materials, and moving towards mid-to-high-end industries. PEEK, as a key national strategic material and applied material in many civilian fields, has a broad development space in the domestic market and will gradually shift from the low-end industry market to the high-end industry field.