Driven by demand on the new energy track, dimethyl carbonate is expected to rise in volume and price

Dimethyl carbonate, referred to as DMC, is a low-toxic, safe and environmentally friendly green organic solvent and chemical intermediate. It has excellent electrochemical properties and is widely used in adhesives, polycarbonate production, electrolytes and other fields.

In recent years, in order to meet the expansion of downstream demand, my country’s dimethyl carbonate production capacity has expanded rapidly. By the end of 2021, my country’s dimethyl carbonate production capacity has increased to about 1.25 million tons. There are still 200,000 tons of production capacity planned to be put into production in the second half of 2022, and new production capacity is expected to continue to be released. Specifically, domestic dimethyl carbonate production capacity is mainly concentrated in Shandong and East China, and the process is mainly propylene oxide transesterification. The main production companies include Shi Dashenghua, Haike Energy, Wells Chemical, etc., and the production processes all adopt the propylene oxide transesterification method.

Dimethyl carbonate is mainly used in the fields of polycarbonate and electrolyte in the domestic market. Thanks to the rapid development of the lithium battery industry in recent years, electrolyte is an important incremental market for the dimethyl carbonate industry. According to the released “2021-2025 China Dimethyl Carbonate Industry Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report“, in 2020 The annual domestic lithium battery electrolyte shipments are about 252,000 tons, and the lithium battery electrolyte shipments in 2021 will be 501,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 100%. Against the background of the increasing penetration rate of domestic new energy vehicles, it is expected that lithium battery shipments will continue to grow rapidly in the next few years, which will promote the rapid growth of the electrolyte industry, thereby promoting the increase in domestic demand for dimethyl carbonate.

Dimethyl carbonate is an important lithium battery electrolyte solvent. The electrolyte is very sensitive to dimethyl carbonate and has extremely strict requirements on product quality and performance. Therefore, the dimethyl carbonate industry has very high process thresholds and customer stickiness. Once downstream customers determine their suppliers, they will not change them for a long time. In addition, the general customer certification process takes 2-3 years, making it more difficult for new entrants. It is expected that the dimethyl carbonate industry will continue to maintain a tight supply situation in the next few years.

Industry analysts said that China’s lithium battery electrolyte shipments in 2021 have accounted for more than 80% of the global market share. It has a very strong voice in the electrolyte solvent industry. With the further commissioning of domestic dimethyl carbonate production capacity and the acceleration of globalization of the industrial chain, China’s dimethyl carbonate voice is expected to further increase in the global industry competition in the future. In addition, the rapid development of the domestic new energy automobile industry has promoted the continued growth of demand for dimethyl carbonate; coupled with the high-tech barrier characteristics of the industry, it is expected that dimethyl carbonate will still be in short supply, and dimethyl carbonate is expected to usher in a new era in the future. Both volume and price are rising, and the industry is booming.
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