New chemical materials refer to new chemical materials with excellent properties or certain special functions that traditional chemical materials do not have. They usually have the characteristics of excellent performance, high added value, high technical threshold, and strong functionality. They are widely used in the national economy and defense. Many fields of military industry.

New chemical materials have strong strategic significance. They are a strong guarantee for sustainable profitability of enterprises and a key element of industrial upgrading. They are related to the success or failure of the game of major powers and determine the success or failure of energy transformation and carbon emission reduction. For a long time, traditional industries such as raw material mining and processing and basic chemical manufacturing have accounted for a relatively large proportion of my country's petrochemical industry, and there are many differences in the development logic of basic chemicals and new chemical materials. At present, my country is in the logical shift stage. How to go in the future?

Lee Super Lv Xiaodong Yuan Xueling (Researcher, Institute of Marketing, SINOPEC Economic and Technological Research Institute)

The field of new materials is divided into three echelons in the world. The first echelon, the United States, Japan and Europe, has absolute advantages in economic strength, core technology, R & D capability and market share; the second echelon is China, Russia and South Korea, which are in the stage of rapid growth; the third echelon is emerging economies such as Brazil, India and South Africa, which are struggling to catch up.

At present, the annual output value of new chemical materials in China exceeds800 billion yuan, with a self-sufficiency rate of 54%, involves all aspects of the national economy and people's livelihood. It is estimated that the output will exceed 45 million tons in 2025. Only 10% of China's new chemical materials are internationally leading, 60% ~ 70% are in a state of catching up, and 20% ~ 30% are quite far behind foreign countries.

The gap between China's new chemical materials and developed countries is reflected in: first, there are no materials available in some fields; second, they are available but not easy to use, and they have to rely on imports when they are used; third, they are available but too expensive to use.

At present, our country isThe new chemical materials of "card neck" are mainly concentrated in semiconductor materials, new energy materials, high-performance membrane materials, etc.

Development of new chemical materials is an urgent task

It is very urgent to speed up the localization of key chemical new materials and enhance the self-sufficiency of key chemical new materials, which is the primary task at present.

New chemical materials are related to the success or failure of the big country game.New chemical materials involve all aspects of the national economy and people's livelihood, but they are more concentrated in high-end application scenarios, such as aerospace, nuclear power plants, chips, information technology, advanced weapons and equipment, high-performance machine tools, rail transit, etc., which are industries that are more sanctioned in my country. The development of new chemical materials determines the height of civilization and the success or failure of the game between big powers.

New chemical materials determine the success or failure of energy transition and carbon emission reduction.China has taken the initiative to put forward the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and green and low-carbon new material technology and industrialization have become the main direction of development. Green development is not only an important part of the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure, but also an important means to promote high-quality development, and a major change in the mode of industry development. The rise of the new energy industry has stimulated the development of upstream industries, such as wind turbine manufacturing, photovoltaic modules, polysilicon and a series of manufacturing and resource processing industries, and promoted the development and production of smart grids, electric vehicles and other transportation and terminal products. The integration of high-end materials and advanced manufacturing technology will produce products that are smaller, more integrated, more intelligent, more functional, less emission, and lower energy consumption.

New chemical materials are the key elements of industrial upgrading.At present, my country has become a major petrochemical industry country that has attracted worldwide attention, but due to the uneven industry and weak technological innovation capabilities, the characteristics of large but not strong are obvious. In addition, the pressure of resource and environmental constraints faced by the industry has gradually increased in recent years, and it is urgent to change the growth mode and realize the transformation and upgrading from large to strong. Manufacturing industry is the foundation of the rise of great powers, the carrier of scientific and technological innovation, and the foundation of material wealth. As an important part of the manufacturing industry, the chemical industry should speed up the transformation and upgrading, implement the relevant layout plan, and promote the safe, green, agglomeration and efficient development of the industry.

New chemical materials are a strong guarantee for the continued profitability of enterprises.From the perspective of enterprise competitiveness, the overall competitiveness of Chinese enterprises is not strong, the level of international operation is low, and the ability to resist risks is weak. Especially in the current technology as the core of security, green and other trade barriers, domestic enterprises are at a competitive disadvantage. Compared with the international leading chemical new material enterprises, China's chemical new material enterprises are small in scale, weak in innovation ability, single product, and mostly rely on the introduction of production technology and equipment. The lack of innovation ability of enterprises has seriously restricted the sustainable and healthy development of China's new chemical materials industry.

Difficulties in the Development of New Chemical Materials in China

There are three difficulties in the development of new chemical materials in China:

First, there are many differences in the development logic of basic chemicals and new chemical materials.Western countries have realized the transformation of development logic earlier, while China is going through the stage of logical shift.

Second, basic research is not enough.The late start of our country is an objective factor, DuPont.Founded in 1802, BASF was established in 1865, ExxonMobil was established in 1882, and Dow Chemical was established in 1897. It has accumulated 100 or 200 years of development experience.

Third, the enterprise financing is not enough, in a single situation.The supply chain and regional layout have not been optimized, resulting in a mismatch between production and logistics, and a very good state of development of integrated industry elements has not been achieved.

Strategic Thinking of Developing New Chemical Materials in China

In terms of guidelines, focus on high-quality development, adhere to strategic thinking, bottom-line thinking, green and low-carbon, comprehensively improve the resilience and safety level of the industrial supply chain, and build a modern industrial system.

:: Further strategic focus, giving full play to the close connection between the upstream and downstream of the petrochemical industry, closely following the central task of the whole industry moving towards the high end of the value chain, giving full play to the two growth drivers of industrial upgrading and domestic substitution, and focusing on national strategy, economic development and people's health needs.

●We will focus on the high performance of basic materials, the independent control of key materials, and the international advancement of cutting-edge materials to help my country's advanced manufacturing industry achieve a higher level of self-reliance and enhance the stability and competitiveness of the industrial supply chain.

● Aim at five key tasks: to make up for short-board breakthrough projects and improve the level of independent control; Forging long-board strong foundation project to enhance core competitiveness; Smooth supply chain project to break the bottleneck of downstream application; Main body cultivation project to create a echelon of leading, specialized and special new enterprises; Spatial layout project to build industrial clusters with regional characteristics.

China's development of new chemical materials focus on optimization direction

The key optimization direction of new chemical materials can be summarized as follows"complement, excellent, use, super".

:: To meet the major strategic needs of the country to make up for shortcomings, strengths and weaknesses. Focusing on the needs of industries such as aerospace, electronic information, new energy, automobiles, rail transit, energy conservation and environmental protection, medical and health, and national defense and military industry, we will break through the bottleneck of the supply of a number of key new chemical materials and supporting raw materials, and enhance our independent support capabilities.

● Excellent: For end-consumer demand, improve the performance of existing materials. Based on the existing products to upgrade and iterate technology, promote a number of large-scale consumption, have a good technical foundation of new chemical materials products to upgrade the grade, to achieve high-end, differentiation, serialization and low-cost supply.

Use: facing the main economic battlefield, through the whole industrial chain. Strengthen the connection between new chemical materials and downstream industries, strengthen the promotion of modified products, and promote the design of electronic chemicals, automotive lightweight, new energy equipment, green buildings and other fields to achieve a demand-oriented industry-university-research development model that connects the entire industry chain.

● Super: advanced layout, accumulation of cutting-edge technology. Focusing on the frontiers of science and technology, focusing on 3D printing, superconductivity, bionic materials and new display materials, extreme environmental materials and material genetic engineering, etc., to accumulate advantages for future competition.

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The key direction of China's petrochemical enterprises.

● Focus on electronic information and new energy fields

Electronic information and new energy are the largest downstream applications of high-end chemical materials, and also the global chemical industry.The two directions with the most intensive business layout of the top 50 high-end chemical materials are the strategic pillar industries of Chinese manufacturing in the future. The development of high-end chemical materials should focus on these two tracks.

Consolidate and expand advantages in high-end polyolefin and other fields

In recent years, international chemical giants have invested less and less in developing new products or intervening in new fields, but have focused more on extending the value of existing materials and continuing to strengthen traditional superior materials. In the past two years, BASF's research and development and mergers and acquisitions in high-end chemical materials have mainly focused on traditional superior products such as engineering plastics and polyurethane materials; Dow Chemical's development focus in the field of high-end chemical materials is an extension of traditional superior projects such as high-end polyolefins and polyurethanes.

Domestic head enterprises to develop high-end chemical materials, to create representative high-end chemical materials, for the material to inject brand value, build an industrial moat.

The development of high-end chemical materials should not only choose the right field of power, but also accurately judge which enterprises are suitable for the development of these materials. Only when the two match can the benefit be maximized.

Sinopec can focus on the development of extrusion foaming high melt strengthHigh-end chemical materials such as PP (polypropylene), brominated butyl rubber, polyimide, and high-performance membrane materials, on this basis, reserve a batch of materials with high external dependence and great market demand potential, especially for applications in 5G, Materials in fast-growing fields such as artificial intelligence and new energy vehicles.

The Stone of Other Mountain

Business Development Strategy of International New Chemical Material Giant

Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil, BASF and other international companies can become the global chemical new materials industry leader, the key lies in the surprising new materials business strategy, summarized in the following aspects.

Low raw material cost and full life cycle assessment

Dow Chemical and ExxonMobil give full play to the advantages of ethane raw material resources in North America to reduce the production cost of basic chemical raw materials such as ethylene and downstream new materials. At the same time, the raw material source, synthesis process, processing design, use process, waste recovery, recycling and other life cycles of new materials are evaluated, and green and low-carbon technologies are integrated to provide customers with leading sustainable development solutions for new chemical materials.

● Keep the leading technology and the whole chain service strategy

Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil, BASF, and Mitsubishi Chemical can continue to strengthen R & D and innovation in their own advantageous areas, form representative technologies with international competitiveness, and maintain a leading position in the world. Dow Chemical works closely with scientists, brand owners, processors and packaging designers around the world by building a network of polyolefin business packaging masters, polyurethane business comfort technology laboratories and automotive materials business platforms to connect the entire value chain and provide overall solutions from product production, processing and application to the entire chain of technical services according to customer needs.

● Focus on full range and branding of products

Major companies generally attach importance to the development of new materials with different properties and uses, form a rich and differentiated product portfolio, build product brands, and continuously expand market share. BASF willMore than 400 grades of polyamide products (nylon) are gathered under the Ultramid brand, which can provide users with a full range of nylon resins and their modified products, and become the main supplier of high-end nylon products in the world. The company is committed to customizing system solutions or functional materials for users, and can introduce more than 300 new products to the market every year.

● Industry chain collaborative innovation strategy

Large international companies attach great importance to the whole industry chain collaborative innovation from raw material production, material synthesis to downstream processing applications. ExxonMobil has increased its investment in upstream oil and gas exploration and downstream refining and chemical integration research and development, using downstream research and development technologies and products to feed back upstream, providing new materials for upstream in hydrogen fuel cells, lithium batteries and carbon capture, and promoting upstream carbon reduction. At the same time, ExxonMobil has established a goal-oriented classified research and development system, expanding new material varieties through technology research and development, and expanding the market through application development and technical services.

● Integrated collaboration and digital transformation strategy

BASF through raw materials, equipment, energy and materials, logistics and on-site infrastructure integration to form a high degree of integration, to achieve the production of new chemical materials raw materials self-sufficiency, energy saving, reducing emissions and logistics costs. Dow Chemical is oriented to the frontier of the new material industry, focusing on the transformation to digital intelligence, applying machine learning, material genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, etc. to the development and production of new materials to improve research and development efficiency.

Open cooperation and innovative business model strategy

Companies attach great importance to strategic cooperation with universities, professional research institutions, companies in the same industry and industry giants, and establish an interdisciplinary research and development system, especially in the basic research of new materials to strengthen cooperation with universities. For example, ExxonMobil has test sites and laboratories in several countries around the world, andMore than 80 universities cooperate to promote the commercialization of scientific research results. At the same time, all companies attach great importance to business model innovation and strengthen venture capital system and technology incubation. For example, BASF New Industry and BASF Ventures are two subsidiaries dedicated to venture capital and technology incubation, supporting start-ups and developing attractive markets and new business models for BASF.

● Business optimization and restructuring strategy

Strengthening business optimization and restructuring is a common practice for large international companies, with Dow and DuPont's business restructuring attracting widespread attention. The two companies areAfter the merger in 2017, it was split into three independent listed companies, focusing on agriculture, materials science and specialty chemicals. optimization through resource integration and synergyThe industrial and capital structure has been improved, expenditure has been reduced, and innovation and market development capabilities have been improved.

Source: China Petrochemical News

From 《International Petrochemical and Energy CrossroadsPublic Number