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"Driven by the rapid development of the new energy lithium battery industry chain, the market demand for aluminum-plastic film has surged. At present, major companies in the industry are scheduling production based on orders, and the company is also facing obvious bottlenecks in production capacity and is actively expanding production. " Recently, the person in charge of a listed company producing aluminum-plastic film said.
It is reported that aluminum-plastic film is a raw material that has not yet been fully localized in the new energy lithium battery industry chain. More than 70% of the Chinese market share currently belongs to Japanese and Korean companies, and there is huge room for China’s substitution. When it comes to power batteries, you may be interested in the dynamics of power battery companies, you can read Top 15 power battery companies on our website for more detailed information.
1.The demand for aluminum plastic film has increased significantly
Lithium batteries can be divided into cylindrical, prismatic and pouch according to the packaging form. Cylindrical and prismatic batteries are packaged in steel and aluminum cases, respectively, while pouch batteries are made of aluminum-plastic film. The upstream of the aluminum-plastic film industry chain is mainly suppliers of raw materials such as nylon, rolled aluminum foil, CPP, and adhesives. Downstream is pouch lithium battery manufacturers, whose terminal corresponding fields include 3C consumer electronics, new energy vehicles, power tools and energy storage power stations.
The person in charge of an aluminum-plastic film company headquartered in South China introduced: "At present, China's aluminum-plastic film has a relatively high market share in the field of low-end 3C consumer electronics, high-end 3C consumer electronics aluminum-plastic film and power pouch battery aluminum-plastic film. The raw materials used are still provided by other companies around the world, and high-end products are highly dependent on imports.” Many industry insiders believe that the development of new energy vehicles will become an important driving force for the improvement of the prosperity of the aluminum-plastic film industry, and there is huge room for substitution of aluminum-plastic film made in China.
One of the reasons is that the existing aluminum-plastic film production capacity of Japanese and Korean companies is limited, and the expansion rate is slow, and the release of production capacity cannot keep up with the rapid development of the global pouch battery industry. Meanwhile, Japanese and Korean companies have a low degree of cooperation with Chinese customers, while Chinese manufacturers have a higher degree of cooperation and have advantages in supply chain security.
On the demand side, BYD's "pouch + hard shell" secondary packaging mode for long and short blade batteries and the trend of pouch power battery have brought new growth in the market. An industry insider said: "BYD said that starting this year, it will also use the 'aluminum-plastic film pouch cell + external aluminum shell package' solution on the 'big blade' battery used in pure electric vehicles. Some brokers estimate that by 2023, the demand for aluminum-plastic film from BYD will reach more than 62 million square meters, which is equivalent to four times the annual shipments of China's leading aluminum-plastic film manufacturers.
Of course, China's aluminum-plastic film is still catching up due to the lack of downstream orders and technology accumulation, but as leading companies such as BYD, CATL, and GOTION HIGH-TECH have successively produced pouch batteries, the trend of Chinese-made alternatives has become more and more clear. " Compared with imported aluminum-plastic film, China's aluminum-plastic film has obvious price advantages. "At present, power battery companies are under great pressure to reduce costs, and the willingness replace with Chinese products is increasing. The price difference between the global lithium battery aluminum-plastic film and similar products made in China is 30%, and similar products made in China have a great cost advantage. " A power battery manufacturer said.
2.China's leading enterprises are recognized
In recent years, China's leading aluminum-plastic film enterprises are gradually obtaining the verification of the world's major power battery manufacturers, and some have established stable cooperative relations. Many executives of aluminum-plastic film production enterprises said that since 2021, the attitude of Chinese pouch battery enterprises to homemade aluminum-plastic film has changed significantly. They look at the homemade aluminum-plastic film with a more open mind, and even take the initiative to ask Chinese aluminum-plastic film enterprises to provide samples for verification testing.
As the largest aluminum-plastic film manufacturer in China, XINLUN has become a qualified supplier of leading pouch batteries such as LG, REVESI BATTERY, JEVE, etc., and has reached a strategic cooperation agreement with SVOLT. From 2022 to 2023, SVOLT will purchase 20 million square meters of aluminum-plastic film for lipo-battery from the company. ZIJIANG HOLDINGS is the earliest enterprise engaged in the production of aluminum-plastic film in my country. In the second half of 2021, its holding subsidiary ZIJIANG NEW MATERIAL introduced strategic investors ATL and BYD.
The company said that in the power battery market, ZIJIANG HOLDINGS' aluminum-plastic film has become an important choice for pouch power battery companies to cooperate with homegrown aluminum-plastic film manufacturers. At present, the company has established stable cooperative relations with ATL, BYD, GREAT POWER, DFD and other manufacturers. Since the beginning of this year, the company has shipped about 3 million square meters per month.
The relevant person in charge of CROWN MATERIAL revealed that since 2021, the company's aluminum-plastic film orders from old customers have continued to grow, and the orders for power battery aluminum-plastic film in GangfengLiEnergy, Narada, CHILWEE, and Green Batt have increased significantly. In addition, a number of listed companies are actively promoting the verification of downstream power battery customers. PUTAILAI said that the aluminum-plastic film has passed the product certification of some power battery customers, and has achieved small batch supply. DM, WAZAM, SMCORP and other companies have formed cooperation with a number of battery manufacturers, and the power aluminum-plastic film is currently being verified.
3.Leading companies in the industry are actively expanding production capacity
According to public information, the top five Chinese aluminum-plastic film companies account for about 70% of the market. XINLUN entered the aluminum-plastic film industry by acquiring T&T, a subsidiary of Toppan Printing in Japan. ZIJIANG HOLDINGS, CROWN MATERIAL, DM and other companies achieved mass supply through their own research and development. Specifically, the production capacity of leading companies in the industry is gradually being released. XINLUN has now become the world's third largest manufacturer of power-type aluminum-plastic film. The designed production capacity of Line 1 of aluminum-plastic film is 3 million square meters/month, the designed production capacity of Line 2 of aluminum-plastic film is 3 million square meters/month, and the designed production capacity of Line 3 in Japan is 2.5 million square meters/month.
In 2021, ZIJIANG HOLDINGS will sell 22.17 million square meters of aluminum-plastic film, a year-on-year increase of nearly 50%, of which the sales volume of aluminum-plastic film for power and energy storage pouch batteries will account for 55%. In that year, the company's aluminum-plastic film gross profit margin exceeded 32%, ranking first among its peers in China. The company's Ma'anshan project and Shanghai Zizhu project are progressing in an orderly manner, and the production capacity of aluminum-plastic film continues to expand.
CROWN MATERIAL currently has a total annual production capacity of 13 million square meters of aluminum-plastic film, of which 10 million square meters of IPO fundraising projects will be completed and put into production in the fourth quarter of 2021, and it is currently in the trial production stage. As the company's production capacity continues to release and climb, it is expected that the production and sales of aluminum-plastic film will reach 13 million to 15 million square meters this year. At the beginning of this year, the company threw out a 2 billion yuan investment project, intending to increase the production capacity of aluminum-plastic film, and plans to build an expansion project with an annual output of 300 million square meters (in two phases).
The pouch battery has excellent performance, which is in line with the development trend of new energy power batteries in the future. Under the general trend of new energy, soft-pack power batteries are expected to drive the continued high demand for aluminum-plastic films. In the future, relying on industry growth and increased penetration, power batteries will gradually become the core driving force for the growth of demand for aluminum-plastic films. Aluminum-plastic film is currently widely used in the fields of 3C consumer batteries, home energy storage batteries and two-wheeler batteries. The field of power batteries will increase significantly in the future with the expansion of head soft pack battery manufacturers.