With the new downstream requirements for lightweight such as new energy vehicles, robots, and 3D printing, PEEK materials are expected to usher in explosive growth. Recently, the concept of PEEK has become popular. PEEK is a high-end engineering plastic, and its specific strength is about 8 times that of aluminum alloy. It was found that a number of listed companies have laid out PEEK and its upstream and downstream.
*: Photo.comPEEK material is expected to usher in the "tuyere".
With the new downstream requirements for lightweight such as new energy vehicles, robots, and 3D printing, PEEK materials are expected to usher in explosive growth. It is reported that polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a high-end engineering plastic, and its specific strength is about 8 times that of aluminum alloy. PEEK material can be used in gears in the automotive field, and many auto parts manufacturers are also the best suppliers of robot parts, which also means that PEEK materials can also be used in robot parts, such as gears, joints, etc.
Recently, Tesla released Optimus-Gen2 (the second generation of Optimus Prime)**, the second generation of Optimus has a number of significant performance improvements: walking speed increased by 30%, weight reduction of 10kg, balance and whole body control have been improved.
Open source** believes that humanoid robots carry limited power, and need to reduce weight and increase battery life by using lightweight materials. The use of lightweight materials can improve the load and flexibility of robots, helping humanoid robots to advance at a high level, while PEEK is a high-end engineering plastic, which is an excellent solution for lightweighting. At present, PEEK materials are mainly used in transportation, aerospace, electronic information, energy and industry, medical and health care and other fields.
IFC** pointed out that compared with engineering plastics, PEEK materials have both rigidity and toughness;Compared with metal materials, PEEK materials have higher specific strength and lower weight, making them suitable for use in fields that require high weight reduction, such as medical, automotive, and robotics. It is estimated that with the rise of emerging downstream industries such as automobiles, 3D printing, and robots, the domestic demand for PEEK materials will reach more than 16.7 billion yuan in 2027.
In China, the domestic head company Zhongyan Co., Ltd. (688716SH), Zhejiang PFLUON Technology Co., Ltd.'s sales volume in 2021 are tons, and the market share is respectively. 9%, of which Zhongyan shares rank fourth in the global market share. PEEK material is about 300,000 tons to 400,000 tons in China, and about 800,000 yuan to 1 million tons in foreign countries.
In addition, fluoroketone is the core raw material of PEEK. PEEK is a synthetic resin, and the upstream raw materials of the industry mainly include fluoroketone (the most critical, which directly affects the quality of PEEK products, accounting for more than half of the cost), hydroquinone (bulk, overcapacity) and sodium carbonate (small value).
A number of listed companies have laid out PEEK and its upstream and downstream
Zhongyan Co., Ltd. focuses on the R&D, production and sales of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), and its main products are PEEK in resin form, forming an existing product system of "two categories, three major brands and six series" with a total of 52 specifications and grades.
The company's main products are divided into two categories: pure resin and composite reinforcing resin according to whether glass fiber and carbon fiber are added for physical modificationAccording to the melt fluidity of the product from low to high, it is divided into three main grades;According to different apparent forms and reprocessing methods, it is divided into six series: pure resin coarse powder (P series), pure resin fine powder (PF series), pure resin particles (G series), glass fiber reinforced particles (GL series), carbon fiber reinforced particles (CA series), and wear-resistant reinforced particles (FC series), in addition to a small amount of PEEK products. The company's products are suitable for injection molding, extrusion, compression molding, spraying and other processing methods, which can meet the needs of downstream customers for a variety of application scenarios of PEEK.
Zhongyan Co., Ltd. claims to be the fourth enterprise in the world with an annual production capacity of 1,000 tons of PEEK, and the second company in the world that can use a 5000L reactor for PEEK polymerization production, and is currently the Chinese enterprise with the largest annual output of PEEK.
Zhongxin fluorine material (002915SZ) said that the company's 5,000 tons of 4,4'-difluorobenzophenone (DFBP) project has been completed and put into trial production in May 2023. At present, the company's DFBP products have passed the test of some customers and began to purchase and use, and some customers are still in the process of testing and trial products.
According to the announcement, Zhongxin fluorine materials have formed more than 30 kinds of fluorine fine chemicals, such as pharmaceutical intermediates represented by 2,3,4,5-tetrafluorobenzoyl chloride and pesticide intermediates represented by 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzene series. The company has expanded downward to high value-added BPEF (optical resin monomer), DFBP (PEEK synthetic monomer) and fluoropolyimide and other new materials and fluorine-containing electronic chemicals such as supercapacitor electrolyte, and has deployed scarce fluorite resources known as the "second rare earth" upstream, and has the whole industrial chain products of fluorite-hydrogen fluoride-fine chemicals, which are widely used in the three major fields of medicine, pesticides, new materials and electronic chemicals.
Xinhan New Materials (301076SZ) is mainly engaged in the research and development, production and sales of aromatic ketone products, and the company's revenue and profit are mainly engaged in the sales of aromatic ketone products.
According to the company, as an aromatic ketone product manufacturer engaged in the R&D and production of DFBP, the core raw material of PEEK in the industry, it has a long-term research and deep understanding of the PEEK industry chain, and has been recognized by key customers for the company's products, and the company's products can be used for the preparation of PEEK products with higher specifications.
The company has established cooperative relations with the world's leading manufacturers in the field of PEEK, Solvay, Victrex, Evonik, and domestic PEEK manufacturers Zhongyan Co., Ltd., Jida Special Plastics and PFLUON. The company's annual output of 8,000 tons of aromatic ketones (including an annual output of 2,500 tons of DFBP production capacity) and its supporting projects will further enhance the company's comprehensive strength and market competitiveness.
Walter shares (002886SZ) is mainly engaged in the research and development, manufacturing, sales and technical services of high-performance functional polymer material synthesis, modification and finished products.
The company's products mainly include special and new engineering polymers, high-performance composite materials, carbon fiber and carbon nanotube composite materials, and fluorine-containing polymer materials. The company's products have been used in electronics, home appliances, photovoltaics, semiconductors, medical, office equipment, communications, automobiles, electrical, energy storage and other fields.
In December 2023, Kangtu Medical (688314SH) said that the company has obtained the third category of "medical device registration certificate" issued by the State Drug Administration, and the products involved are polyetheretherketone sternal fixation belts and polyetheretherketone maxillofacial implants.
The company said that the sternal fixation product is the company's first domestic brand of PEEK material made of the third type of implantable medical device products, the above products to obtain the medical device registration certificate, on the one hand, enrich the types of raw materials, reduce the potential risk of business concentration, and ensure the stability of raw materials, quality standards and qualityOn the other hand, it also provides the possibility for the application of domestic PEEK materials in other product fields of the company, and promotes the company to create a high-quality, diversified and differentiated product matrix.