Steadily promote the localization of aluminum plastic film

At present, the domestic aluminum plastic film market is monopolized by Dainippon Printing (DNP), Showa Denko, Letterpress Printing (T&T) and four Japanese and Korean companies in Kurimura. With the increasing demand for localization of aluminum-plastic film, Xinlun Technology has seized the opportunity of T&T, the world's top three suppliers of lithium-ion soft-pack materials, in April 2016, accelerating the localization of aluminum-plastic film and improving it. The mass production capacity and market share of domestic aluminum plastic film.

On April 25, 2017, Xinlun Technology released its 2016 annual report, achieving an operating income of 1.65 billion yuan, a substantial increase of 61.94% over the same period of the previous year; of which aluminum plastic film revenue was about 0.7 billion yuan. According to the company, in 2017, with the release of production capacity in Japan and the commissioning of domestic plants, it is expected that the aluminum plastic film business will achieve rapid growth this year.

In 2015, the domestic soft-pack lithium battery production was 19.8GWh, accounting for 42.3%, and the market share was the first. The high energy density of soft pack batteries has been favored by the market this year, and the market penetration rate is expected to continue to increase. As the key material of the soft pack battery, the aluminum film has continued to rise.

As the core material of soft pack battery, aluminum plastic film is far more difficult than diaphragm, positive electrode, negative electrode and electrolyte. It is one of the three high-tech industries in the lithium battery industry. Up to now, more than 15 companies including Dao Ming Optics, Zijiang Xincai, Xinlun Technology, Su Dahui Cheng, Dongguan Excellence, Zhuhai Saiwei, Foshuang Technology, Mingguan New Materials and Lianyungang Shenyuan have been involved in this field.

According to industry data, the demand for aluminum-plastic film for lithium batteries in China in 2016 (excluding foreign-owned enterprises in China, except for ATL) is 95 million m2, and the domestic aluminum-plastic film market accounts for only 7%. In the field of aluminum plastic film, there is also a huge import substitution market for excavation. However, despite the bright prospects of the aluminum plastic film market, the road to localization is not flat under high-tech barriers.

First of all, from the perspective of product performance, China's aluminum plastic film products currently have five major defects. The first is that the surface treatment process of aluminum foil is backward and polluted; the second is that the water treatment of aluminum foil will produce “hydrogen embrittlement”, which leads to poor resistance to aluminum plastic film; the third is that the surface roughness of aluminum foil is not enough, and the yield is poor; fourth When CPP is combined with the surface of high-heat-conducting aluminum foil, it is easy to curl and produce layered crystals. The fifth is that the domestic adhesive formulation process is poor, and delamination problem is easy to occur.

Aluminum plastic film after punching

Secondly, from the perspective of the upstream enterprise demand side, there are also two major constraints. One is that the raw materials are highly dependent on the state of imports. Under the technical nature of high-tech barriers for aluminum-plastic film, the quality and performance of raw materials are extremely high, while the products of domestic upstream enterprises cannot meet the performance requirements. Aluminum-plastic film companies can only rely on imported raw materials for product development, if domestic raw materials The lack of technical support can not be changed, which will inevitably lead to the breakdown of the upstream and downstream industrial chains and restrict the localization of aluminum plastic film.

The second is that production equipment is heavily dependent on imports. The aluminum plastic film is made up of three layers of film through adhesive additives. Each layer of film has a thickness of 15~50μm. Under the composite structure of micron, it is necessary to produce excellent products and production equipment. Reaction conditions and precision control have extremely high requirements, especially in the development of high-performance products, domestic equipment manufacturers often cannot ensure the performance of products after mass production.

At present, the introduction of Japanese and Korean equipment by aluminum-plastic film enterprises has become the norm, and the difficulty of process control is reflected in the difference. According to industry insiders, domestic equipment manufacturers should be more determined in research and development, to overcome technological high grounds at an early date, and to break the industry abnormality of Japan and South Korea as the king, so as to promote the continuous development of the industry.

Finally, from the supply side of the industrial chain. At present, in the domestic market, whether it is digital or power companies, there are certain product concerns when choosing domestic aluminum plastic film. The reason is not only the concern about product performance, but also the influence of long-term use habits. In order to eliminate the concerns of buyers and cultivate users' usage habits, they need to advance in service and technology.

Liu Rongjiang, TCL Skills Technology R&D Manager, pointed out that the key point for the breakthrough in the localization of aluminum-plastic film is to get rid of the state of dependence on imports and carry out technological innovation from the inside. At this point, aluminum-plastic film companies need upstream and downstream enterprises to work together and cooperate, and domestic battery companies should not stifle the enthusiasm of domestic aluminum-plastic film companies.

The rapid growth of market demand does not change the industry reputation of poor performance of domestic aluminum-plastic film. In the context of a globalized market, investing a large amount of social resources, so that the domestic aluminum plastic film can be expected to catch up in the technology, but the user's habits can not be changed overnight, good brand and word of mouth is not short-term Established, the major aluminum plastic film companies not only have to work hard on technology improvement, but also can not ignore the role of marketing.

The development of the industry is advancing by leaps and bounds

However, compared with imported aluminum plastic film, the advantages of domestic aluminum plastic film are also very obvious. Wu Huan, Director of TD Optical Sales, pointed out: "There are five major advantages of domestic aluminum-plastic film: First, the price-performance advantage, domestic price and import price remain 20%~30%; second, performance guarantee, key performance indicators have reached or exceeded imports. The brand level; the third is flexible sales strategy, the market development channel is more direct, the transaction method is more flexible; the fourth is perfect after-sales service, sufficient supply, timely delivery, technical services are more comprehensive and fast; fifth is good after-sales protection, dare to take risks Eliminate customer concerns."

For domestic aluminum-plastic film, although the road ahead may face multiple difficulties, it does not hinder the enthusiasm and determination of the company's layout. At present, the domestic battery companies' awareness and acceptance of domestic aluminum-plastic film is developing positively. Many domestic digital battery companies have begun to apply domestic aluminum-plastic film in batches. In the field of power, although it will take time to reach large-scale applications, it is gratifying that some domestic mainstream enterprises have begun testing domestic aluminum-plastic films.

For example, Foshan Plastic Technology has laid out aluminum-plastic film as early as 2008. After years of independent research and development, the products have been gradually accepted by the market; Su Dahui actively introduces advanced technology equipment and cultivates technical talents, and the product competitive advantage has been mass-produced; Xinlun Technology acquired Japanese companies and completed the whole process of technology transfer through capital; TD Optical relied on its own technical background and later entered the mass production process.

With the gradual maturity of major companies in production formula, process, equipment, manufacturing, etc., the performance of domestic aluminum plastic film products, such as stability, appearance consistency, and corrosion resistance of the electrolyte, is continuously strengthened. The market share of domestic aluminum-plastic film this year is expected to reach 10%. Wu Huan pointed out that with the continuous improvement of the performance and production capacity of domestic aluminum-plastic film, the price of imported aluminum-plastic film will have a certain impact on the price of imported aluminum-plastic film in the next three years.

According to the forecast of relevant institutions, the cost of power batteries will drop by 40% in 2020, while the proportion of aluminum-plastic film in soft-package batteries will reach 15-20%. At the same time, the state subsidies for new energy vehicles will also be fully withdrawn in 2020. Domestic lithium battery manufacturers face huge cost pressures and urgently demand to reduce the cost of raw materials for lithium batteries. Therefore, the demand for aluminum-plastic film to achieve import substitution and localization has become increasingly prominent.

The development of technology is the process of continuously breaking through innovation. Wang Tao, the power test manager of Miaosheng, said that there is still a certain gap between the performance of domestic aluminum-plastic film and imported products at present, but he always believes that the performance and quality of domestic aluminum-plastic film will be better and better, and will eventually complete the import of products. Alternative.

Professional institutions estimate that the cumulative market size of aluminum-plastic film during the “13th Five-Year Plan” period is about 36 billion yuan. At present, domestic aluminum-plastic film is mainly concentrated in the digital field, and the market share of power battery is very small. The huge market alternative space is aluminum. Opportunities for plastic film companies are also opportunities for the entire battery industry.