The fiber-grade germanium tetrachloride industry has broad development prospects, and the level of localization in the domestic market is gradually improving.

Germanium tetrachloride, referred to as germanium chloride, is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula GeCl4. It appears as a colorless liquid and is soluble in most organic solvents such as concentrated hydrochloric acid, dilute hydrochloric acid, benzene, and ethanol. It is widely used in optical fiber, chemical industry, and metallurgy. It is widely used in other fields.

Fiber-grade germanium tetrachloride can meet the application requirements of the optical fiber field, mainly including high purity requirements. The purity must reach 6N level and above, and harmful impurity elements such as arsenic cannot be detected; high infrared spectrum transmittance requirements , the infrared absorption peak transmittance of groups such as hydrogen and oxygen, hydrochlorine, and hydrocarbons must reach more than 98%.

Fiber-grade germanium tetrachloride is mainly used as a dopant in the production of optical fiber preforms. It plays the role of reducing optical fiber dispersion and transmission loss, increasing the refractive index of the fiber core, and thereby achieving the purpose of lossless transmission of light. Optical fiber preform is a key raw material for the production of optical fiber cables. Its quality directly affects the performance of optical fiber cables. Optical fiber cables made of fiber-grade germanium tetrachloride have the characteristics of large transmission capacity, low optical transmission loss, low fiber dispersion, high refractive index, and resistance to It has the advantages of strong radiation interference performance and strong work continuity.

According to the “China Optical Fiber Grade Germanium Tetrachloride Industry Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report 2023-2027” released by the Industrial Research Center shows that optical fiber cables are important components for realizing optical fiber communications. As the optical fiber communication industry is gradually upgrading towards large capacity, high speed and broadband, its requirements for the performance of upstream raw materials are constantly increasing. As a result, optical fiber grade four Germanium chloride market demand is increasing. The global fiber-grade germanium tetrachloride market size will reach US$510 million in 2022, a year-on-year growth of 5.5%.

Fiber-grade germanium tetrachloride has high requirements on purity and performance, and is difficult to produce. Therefore, the industry has high technical barriers. At present, the key global fiber-grade germanium tetrachloride technology is still in the hands of leading international companies, including Umicore Group of Belgium, Indium Corporation of the United States, and Teck Resources of Canada.

From the perspective of the domestic market, in the early days, my country mainly relied on imports of fiber-grade germanium tetrachloride. However, in recent years, as local companies continue to conquer key technologies, the number of companies with mass production capabilities for fiber-grade germanium tetrachloride has continued to increase. The main companies include Wuhan Yunjingfei Optical Fiber, Youyan Guojinghui New Materials, Kunming Yungermanium High-tech, Yunnan Germanium Industry, Yunnan Chihong Zinc and Germanium, etc. With the gradual release of production capacity of local enterprises, the pace of domestic substitution in the domestic fiber-grade germanium tetrachloride market is continuing to accelerate, and the industry shows good development prospects.

Industrial analysts said that fiber-grade germanium tetrachloride is an advanced raw material for the production of optical fiber preforms and is currently used in the optical fiber communications industry. Against the background of gradual upgrading, its market size is continuously expanding, and the industry has broad prospects for development. At present, the key technology of global fiber-grade germanium tetrachloride is mainly in the hands of European and American companies. Chinese companies are still at a disadvantage in competition. In the future, local companies will need to continue to improve their technical levels to promote the continuous enhancement of the competitive advantage of domestic products.