Multiple projects are coming online in a concentrated manner! PVDF production capacity is expanding rapidly, with oversupply in the low-end segment and shortages in the high-end segment.

On May 29, Shandong Hua'an New Materials' PVDF polymerization technical renovation project was accepted for public notice by the Zibo Ecological and Environment Bureau. Its Phase II 5,000 tons/year production line of the 8,000 tons/year PVDF project officially met the conditions for trial production. Upon commissioning, the company's PVDF capacity will expand from 14,000 tons/year to 22,000 tons/year. Meanwhile, Jinchuan Group's Phase I project of a 20,000 tons/year high-end PVDF resin industry chain successfully underwent a one-time trial run with feedstock on May 6, producing qualified products covering three major grades: lithium battery, photovoltaic, and coatings, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the People's Government of Gansu Province.

The domestic expansion wave continues to spread: The expansion project of Shandong Deyi New Materials (10,000 tons VDF + 5,000 tons PVDF) has entered the proposed approval stage for the Dezhou environmental impact assessment. After expansion, the total capacity will rise to 25,000 tons/year; Yonghe Shares is accelerating the construction of its 20,000 tons/year PVDF supporting 40,000 tons VDF project at its Inner Mongolia base, planning to release new capacity in 2026.

Overseas giants are doubling down on the Chinese market. Arkema has finalized a capital expenditure of 600 million euros, expanding the capacity of its Kynar series PVDF in Changshu by 20%, with production expected in 2028, while its Calvert City plant in the U.S. is simultaneously planning a 15% expansion. At the 2026 CIBF exhibition, Arkema launched PVDF products dedicated to dry electrodes and sulfide solid electrolyte membranes, aiming at the next-generation power battery track.

Capacity Details of Domestic PVDF Leading Enterprises (10,000 tons/year)

I. A Multi-Billion Market Continues to Expand, Domestic Capacity Accounts for Over 60% Globally

Data calculations show that in 2025, the global PVDF market size will be 8.019 billion yuan, with the domestic market size at 2.159 billion yuan; institutions predict the global market size will climb to 13.423 billion yuan by 2032, offering broad long-term growth space for the industry.

In terms of supply pattern, China has become the core gathering place for global PVDF capacity. In 2025, the nominal effective capacity of the domestic industry is about 180,000 tons/year, while global annual consumption is 247,800 tons, with China's capacity share exceeding 60%. Benefiting from the expansion of demand in lithium batteries, photovoltaics, and semiconductors, new, renovated, and expanded domestic capacities have been intensively released in recent years, and the industry has entered a cycle of high-speed capacity expansion.

II. Structural Differentiation in Operating Capacity Rates: Low-End Overcapacity Emerging, Leading Enterprises at Full Capacity, Small and Medium Capacities Idle

· Rapid capacity release has spawned a clear pattern of differentiation: The average operating rate of the domestic PVDF industry in 2025 was 72%, a decline from 78% in 2023, as the digestion of new low-end capacity fell short of expectations; in the first quarter of 2026, the overall industry operating rate was just over 85%, but leading high-quality enterprises achieved a capacity utilization rate of around 90%, while low-grade general materials gradually fell into overcapacity.

· The industry summarizes the current status: Total capacity is loose, while high-end effective supply is tight; ordinary coating and injection molding grade products are overcapacity, while lithium battery grade and semiconductor grade high-end grades are in short supply.

III. Dual-Track Market Prices: Domestic Quotes Stable, Imported High-End Products Command Premiums of 2-3 Times

In the first half of 2026, the PVDF market formed a differentiated trend of "stable domestic prices, high imported prices":

1. Domestic Quotes by Grade: Lithium battery grade 57,000～65,000 yuan/ton; Funuolin lithium battery grade spot price 62,000～65,000 yuan/ton with tight supply; Coating grade 58,000～62,000 yuan/ton; Injection molding grade 60,000～63,000 yuan/ton. Overall domestic price fluctuations are moderate. Lithium battery grade prices rose by 8%~12% year-on-year, while industrial general grade fell by 3%~5% year-on-year, and the price spread between grades continued to widen.

2. Imported High-End Grades: Arkema HSV900 is about 160,000 yuan/ton, Solvay 6020 model is 180,500 yuan/ton, prices are 2~3 times that of similar domestic products, leaving ample room for high-end domestic substitution.

On the raw material side, the ex-factory price of PVDF core raw material R142b for bulk water in East China and Northwest China in May was 33,000 yuan/ton, with stable prices; the production cost share of this raw material fell from 65% in 2023 to 53% in 2025, and the decline in raw material prices increased the profits of manufacturing companies. However, restricted by the quota control of the "Montreal Protocol", the approval of new R142b devices is limited, and there is a rigid constraint on long-term raw material supply.

V. Three Major Development Logics for the Industry in 2026

1. Product High-End Upgrading is the Core to Breaking the Deadlock

It is a foregone conclusion that low-end general PVDF capacity is in excess. The gap in high-end products for battery and semiconductor fields is significant. The high premium on imported products highlights the dividends of domestic substitution. Enterprise technology upgrades and grade iterations have become the key to breaking out.

2. Full Industry Chain Integration Builds Cost Barriers

As R142b quotas tighten year by year, enterprises with a full industry chain integration of Fluorite-Hydrofluoric Acid-R142b-VDF-PVDF can lock in raw material supply, compress production costs, and possess prominent anti-cyclical advantages.

3. Emerging Applications Open Up Medium-to-Long-Term Incremental Space

The annual compound growth rate of PVDF demand in the lithium battery sector exceeds 40%, semiconductor grade products grow at 24%, and PVDF materials in the hydrogen energy sector have completed pilot trials; data estimates the global lithium battery grade PVDF market size will reach 8.68 billion USD in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 20.3% from 2026 to 2035. Emerging demand continues to reshape the industry's demand ceiling.