Strong demand for soft-pack lithium-ion batteries drives the expansion of the aluminum-plastic film market

Aluminum plastic film refers to a multi-layer film composed of adhesive, outer nylon layer (ON), inner heat sealing layer (CPP), middle layer aluminum foil (Al), etc. Compared with ordinary composite films, aluminum-plastic films have advantages such as electrical insulation, puncture resistance, barrier properties, and moisture resistance, and are widely used in the packaging of electronics and cutting-edge national defense products. There are many types of aluminum-plastic films, including paper-aluminum composite films, aluminum foil composite films, medicinal aluminum-plastic composite films, non-printing composite films, aluminum-containing composite films, etc.

The production process of aluminum plastic film includes thermal method and dry method. Thermal method is the mainstream preparation process of DNP Company in Japan, including hot pasting process, sandwich laminating process and co-extrusion laminating process. The thermal method usually uses modified polyethylene MPP to thermally synthesize aluminum foil and CPP, and finally makes Aluminum plastic film. Thermal process aluminum plastic film has the advantages of good water resistance and good stability against electrolyte, but it has higher equipment requirements. The dry method directly uses adhesive to laminate aluminum foil and CPP, which is the mainstream preparation method of aluminum plastic film of Japan Showa Company, but the production process of this method is relatively complicated.

Aluminum foil, adhesive, nylon and CPP are the main raw materials for aluminum plastic film production. In recent years, my country’s aluminum foil production has maintained a steady growth trend as a whole. According to statistics from the China Nonferrous Metal Processing Industry Association, my country’s aluminum foil production will reach 4.55 million tons in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%. Restricted by technical barriers, although my country’s aluminum-plastic film industry has raw material advantages, product quality is uneven, resulting in a shortage of high-end aluminum-plastic film market and high import dependence.

Aluminum plastic film has a wide range of applications, with soft-pack lithium-ion batteries as its main demand end. With the rapid development of the economy and the continuous improvement of national living standards, my country’s electronic product market demand is becoming increasingly strong. The update and iteration speed of electronic products such as tablet computers and smartphones continues to accelerate, driving the shipment of soft-pack lithium-ion batteries to continue to grow. Aluminum-plastic film is a key raw material for soft-pack lithium-ion batteries, and the rapid development of downstream industries has driven the expansion of its market size. According to the “Research Report on the Market Status of the Global Aluminum Plastic Film Industry in 2022 released by the Industrial Research Center, my country’s aluminum plastic film will The market size reached 4.56 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.2%.

The global aluminum-plastic film market is mainly concentrated in Japan and South Korea. Japan’s Showa Denko, Japan’s DNP, and South Korea’s Yulmura Chemical are the world’s leading aluminum-plastic film companies. Mingguan New Materials, Xinlun New Materials, Huazheng New Materials, etc. are the main suppliers of aluminum plastic films in my country.

Industry analysts said that aluminum-plastic films have excellent performance and are widely used in emerging electronic products and other fields. Benefiting from technological innovation and improving economic levels, my country’s soft-pack lithium-ion battery market demand is increasingly strong, driving the scale of the aluminum-plastic film industry to continue to expand. However, at present, there are still technical barriers in my country’s aluminum-plastic film industry, and the high dependence on imports of high-end products is the main challenge facing the development of the industry.