Asia Pacific Liquid Crystal Polymers Market Overview
Liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) are a type of thermoplastics that show properties of highly ordered solid crystalline materials and amorphous disordered liquids over a well-defined temperature range. In Asia Pacific, LCPs find major use in electronic components like Connectors, Flexible Circuits, printed circuit boards, and others. Electrical & Electronics and Consumer Electronics are so far the largest consumers of LCP and will continue to be the major consumers between 2022 and 2032.
Asia Pacific Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCP) Capacity, By Company (Tons)
Asia Pacific Liquid Crystal Polymers Capacity Analysis
Japan is the second biggest LCP producer in the Asia Pacific region with an installed capacity of more than 25,000 tons as of 2021. Polyplastics is the biggest LCP producer in Japan accounting for more than 50% of the total country’s capacity. Seyang Polymer is the sole LCP producer in South Korea with an installed capacity of fewer than 1000 tons in 2021. All major other countries in the Asia Pacific region, including India, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the rest of Asia Pacific are dependent on imports of LCP as they do not have domestic production.
In 2021, LCP capacity in Asia Pacific was estimated to be more than 50,000 tons of which Polyplastics accounted for more than 25% of the regional LCP capacity. Polyplastics operates an LCP plant in Japan with an installed capacity of around 15,000 tons. Sumitomo is the second biggest LCP producer with plants in Japan and China. Asia-Pacific is estimated to be the largest consumer of LCP, accounting for over 75% of the global Liquid crystal polymer demand. China accounted for more than 50% of the regional LCP demand and it is further projected to witness strong growth in the forecast period. Vehicle electrification, the Internet of Things, and 5G are some of the key demand drivers for the LCP market in the Asia Pacific region.
China Liquid Crystal Polymers Production Capacity, By Company
China is the largest LCP producer in the world with an installed capacity of more than 25,000 tons in 2021. Celanese is the biggest LCP producer in China accounting for more than 27% of the country’s capacity followed by Kingfa SCI. & TECH and Shenzhen Water New Materials Co., Ltd. at 23% and 19% respectively. Shanghai Pret Composites Co Ltd and Ningbo JUJIA New Material Technology Co., account for 10% each. The Chinese LCP capacity is projected to cross 70,000 tons by 2032 with announced capacity additions by Celanese and other producers.
Major Liquid Crystal Polymers Manufacturers in Asia Pacific
In terms of Liquid crystal polymer demand by application, the electrical & electronics industry is anticipated to dominate the Asia Pacific market. It is used as a substitute for other engineering plastics and the growing requirement for precision parts suitable for use at high temperatures will drive the growth in electrical & electronics. Liquid crystal polymers offer excellent properties such as stiffness, flow, mechanical strength, chemical resistance, dimensional stability, and temperature resistance which makes LCP a suitable material for the rising trend of miniaturization across the electronics & electrical industry.
LCPs are used to manufacture HF network switches, IC sockets, power modules for solar and wind converters, electrical connectors, inverters, and other electrical devices. The increasing demand of microinjection molding is anticipated to drive the LCP market growth. The growing demand for connectors with high pin density is anticipated to drive LCP demand in the forecast years. Furthermore, the increasing demand for lightweight and high-performance materials from the automotive industry to produce fuel-efficient vehicles is projected to present huge market growth opportunities.
LCP Capacity Addition Announcements
In January 2021, Celanese Corporation announced a new greenfield Liquid Crystal Polymers manufacturing facility in China to cater to the fast-growing LCP demand from electrical & electronics demand from Asia Pacific. The first phase of the project is anticipated to be completed by 2024 with an installed capacity of 20,000 tons.
PolyPlastics plans to build a greenfield 5,000 tons LCP plant in the unit at its facility in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The plant is expected to start commercial operation by Q2-2024.
Sumitomo Chemicals has announced to build new production lines for LCP at their Niihama city plant, in Japan. The company plans to increase production by 30% and the production is set to start by 2023.
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