1、 Industry Overview: the optical pet base film market ushers in a period of strategic opportunities
1.1 the market scale continues to expand and the domestic substitution is accelerated
Optical grade PET base film refers to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film with excellent optical properties after special processing, which is mainly used in the fields of display panel, optical film, photovoltaic backplane, etc. In recent years, China's optical grade PET substrate film market has shown a rapid growth trend and has become an important growth pole in the global market. It is estimated that it will exceed 13billion yuan by 2025, and the compound annual growth rate will remain at a high level of 10%-12%.
From the perspective of the global market, the global pet optical base film market scale will grow steadily in 2024, and it is expected to maintain a steady growth trend in the future, and the market scale will further expand by 2031.
1.2 diversified application fields and obvious high-end trend
Optical pet base film has been widely used in many fields due to its high transmittance, low haze, excellent mechanical properties and thermal stability.
Display panel field: as the protective film, release film of polarizer, and the substrate of optical film such as diffusion film and brightening film, it is an indispensable material for liquid crystal display (LCD) and organic light emitting diode (OLED) display technology.
Photovoltaic new energy field: as the base film of photovoltaic backplane, it plays a role of protection and insulation in photovoltaic modules. With the rapid development of photovoltaic industry, the demand for high weather resistant pet base film for photovoltaic backplane continues to grow, with an annual growth rate of more than 18%.
Electronic circuit field: ultra thin PET film for flexible printed circuit board (FPC) and MLCC (multilayer ceramic capacitor) release film, etc. with the development of consumer electronics and 5g communication technology, the demand continues to expand.
Other emerging fields: including the automotive industry (such as on-board display), medical packaging (such as high-temperature device packaging), etc. the demand for optical grade PET base film in these fields is also growing steadily.
1.3 industrial chain structure and competition pattern
The optical pet base film industry chain mainly includes upstream raw material suppliers, midstream base film manufacturers and downstream application fields. From the perspective of competition pattern, China's optical grade PET film market is highly concentrated, with the top five manufacturers accounting for about 68% of the market share.
2、 Technological breakthrough: the innovation road of domestic optical pet base film
2.1 core technology breakthrough and localization process
In the past 3-5 years, the domestic optical pet base film has made major breakthroughs in a number of core technologies, gradually narrowing the gap with the international leading level.
Technical highlights
Yangzhou Boheng New Energy Materials Technology Co., Ltd. successfully trial produced optical grade polyester (PET) film with performance indexes reaching or exceeding the level of imported products in 2024.
In 2023, Yuxing successfully mass produced ultra-thin OCA optical adhesive base film below 75 μ m, and the product yield exceeded 88%.
The technology of anti blue light pet protective film has been mature, which can achieve UV and blue light barrier rate ≥ 99%.
2.2 improvement of key performance indicators
The domestic optical pet base film has made significant improvements in a number of key performance indicators, gradually approaching or reaching the international advanced level.
Light transmittance: the light transmittance of high-end domestic optical pet base film has reached more than 92%, and some products such as reflective film can even reach 94%.
Surface roughness: the surface roughness Ra of domestic optical pet base film has been controlled within 1nm, which is 1000 times thinner than hair.
Mechanical properties: the longitudinal tensile strength of domestic optical pet base film is more than 180MPa, and the transverse tensile strength is more than 160MPa.
Temperature resistance: the long-term use temperature of domestic optical pet base film can reach 120 ℃, and the short-term temperature resistance limit is 150 ℃.
2.3 R&D investment and innovation platform construction
In order to accelerate technological innovation, domestic optical pet base film enterprises have continued to increase R&D investment and established various forms of innovation platforms. Since 2023, the R&D investment of domestic optical substrate film enterprises has generally maintained at 4.5% -6.8%.
3、 Market competition: the acceleration of domestic substitution and the game of international giants
3.1 market pattern change and domestic substitution process
In the past 3-5 years, the market pattern of domestic optical pet base film has changed significantly, and the domestic substitution process has accelerated. According to market data, the market share of Cr5 enterprises reached 58.3% in 2023, 9.6% higher than that in 2020.
3.2 competitive strategy analysis of domestic leading enterprises
Double star new materials: the whole industrial chain layout has built a competitive barrier, the self-sufficiency rate of optical substrate film has increased to 92%, and the related business revenue will reach 4.78 billion yuan in 2022
Yuxing shares: the high-end strategy improves its profitability. In 2023, it successfully mass produced ultra-thin OCA optical adhesive base film below 75 μ m, and the gross profit margin increased to 37.2%
Dongcai Technology: differentiated competition strategy. The antistatic optical base film developed has passed the certification of BOE and csot
Aerospace rainbow: the military background has helped expand the civil market, and the high temperature resistant optical film has made a breakthrough in the field of vehicle camera modules
3.3 competitive strategies and market performance of international enterprises in China
Japanese enterprises such as Toray and teiren occupy a dominant position in the high-end optical pet substrate film market, accounting for 65% of the high-end market share. Korean enterprises such as SKC and Kolon industries also have strong competitiveness in the optical pet substrate film market. European and American enterprises such as DuPont and Mitsubishi Chemical have leading advantages in the field of special functional optical pet base film.
4、 Industrial chain integration: collaborative development and vertical integration
4.1 upstream raw material supply and localization process
The upstream of optical pet base film mainly includes PTA, MEG and other basic chemical raw materials and PET chips. In recent years, China has basically realized localization in these upstream raw materials, but it still relies on high-end special materials.
4.2 scale expansion and technological upgrading of midstream production enterprises
Midstream production enterprises are the core link of the industrial chain. In recent years, they have shown a parallel development trend of scale expansion and technology upgrading. Leading enterprises have increased investment and expanded production capacity.
4.3 demand changes and innovative applications in downstream applications
The demand changes in downstream applications have an important impact on the development of optical pet substrate film industry. In recent years, downstream applications have shown a trend of diversification and high-end development.
Highlights of demand growth
In the first quarter of 2025, driven by the domestic PV installed capacity (more than 50gw in the first quarter), the PV backplane film shipments increased by 18% year-on-year.
The high temperature resistant optical film developed by aerospace rainbow has made a breakthrough in the field of vehicle camera modules, and the revenue of related products has increased to 31% in 2023.
Medical grade PET has replaced traditional materials in the field of device packaging due to its high temperature resistance, and its share has increased to 12%.
4.4 cases of collaborative innovation and vertical integration of industrial chain
Collaborative innovation of industrial chain is an important way to promote the high-quality development of optical pet substrate film industry. In recent years, domestic enterprises have made positive progress in collaborative innovation of industrial chain.
5、 Policy support: guiding industrial upgrading and innovative development
5.1 policy support and planning at the national level
A series of policies and measures have been issued at the national level to support the development of high-performance film materials such as optical pet base film. These policies provide strong support for the development of the industry from many aspects, such as industrial planning, technological innovation, application and promotion.
5.2 supporting policies and implementation measures of local government
Local governments have also issued a series of supporting policies and implementation measures to support the development of optical pet substrate film industry. For example, the Department of industry and information technology of Jiangsu Province issued the guidance directory for the first application demonstration of key new materials in Jiangsu Province (2024 version) on September 3, 2024.
5.3 industry standard system construction and certification
The construction of standard system is an important support to promote the high-quality development of optical pet substrate film industry. In recent years, China has made positive progress in the construction of standard system related to optical pet base film.
6、 Future outlook and development suggestions
6.1 industry development trend forecast
Based on the current development trend, China's optical pet substrate film industry will show the following development trends in the next 3-5 years:
The market scale continues to expand: it is estimated that the market scale of China's optical grade PET film will exceed 13billion yuan in 2025, and it is expected to reach 22-25billion yuan by 2030. The industrial concentration is further improved, and it is estimated that Cr5 will exceed 75% by 2027
Accelerating technological innovation: more technological breakthroughs will be made, especially in the areas of ultra-thin, high light transmittance, high weather resistance, functional coatings, etc
Expansion of application fields: applications in emerging fields such as new energy vehicles, medical packaging, and smart wear will continue to expand
6.2 suggestions on the development strategy of domestic enterprises
For the development of domestic optical pet base film enterprises, the following strategic suggestions are put forward:
Strengthen technological innovation and continuously increase R&D investment;
Optimize the product structure and increase the proportion of high value-added products;
Promote the integration of the industrial chain and improve the toughness and risk resistance of the industrial chain;
Implement the internationalization strategy and enhance the international market share and brand influence;
Pay attention to talent training and establish a perfect talent incentive mechanism.
6.3 suggestions on policy support optimization
In order to further support the development of optical pet base film industry, the following policy optimization suggestions are put forward:
Improve the policy system and strengthen policy coordination;
Increase financial support and set up special funds;
Strengthen the guidance of standards and accelerate the formulation and improvement of relevant standards;
Optimize the market environment and strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights;
Support the application and promotion, and accelerate the localization process.
7、 Conclusion
China's optical pet base film industry has made great progress in the past 3-5 years. The market scale has been continuously expanded, the technical level has been significantly improved, the industrial concentration has been continuously improved, and the localization process has been accelerated. Through technological innovation, capacity expansion and industrial chain integration, domestic enterprises such as Shuangxing new material, Yuxing Co., Ltd. and Dongcai technology occupy an increasingly important position in the market competition.
However, the domestic optical pet base film still faces strong competition from international giants in the high-end market, especially in the high value-added fields such as the optical base film for display panel, the dependence on imports is still high. In the future, with the continuous improvement of performance requirements for optical pet substrate film in downstream applications, domestic enterprises need to continue to increase R&D investment, strengthen technological innovation, optimize product structure and enhance international competitiveness.
Driven by both policy support and market demand, China's optical pet substrate film industry is expected to achieve greater breakthroughs in the next 3-5 years and become an important force in the global optical pet substrate film market. Domestic enterprises should seize this strategic opportunity period, realize high-quality development through technological innovation, industrial chain integration and international layout, and make greater contributions to the development of China's new material industry.
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