Bio-based Material China Quarterly Report

Welcome to the Bio-based Material Quarterly Newsletter Q2 2024.

Policy

In Q2, China issued the National Standard of Polylactic Acid/PLA (GB/T29284–2024) replacing the 2012 version, and the Implementation Plan to Establish a Carbon Footprint Management System.

Market dynamics & company performance

Reporting on 2023 performance, eSUN made growths in 3D printing materials and eco-friendly biodegradable materials; Jindan Technology saw declines in the lactic acid business; and Kingfa suffered sharp drop in net profit. In Q1 2024, Cathay Biotech's net profit surged on a substantial growth in sales of long-chain dibasic acid (LCDA).

In Q2, there are updates on bio-based projects as below:

• 2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) projects, run by: Xingfa Group (to add 1,000 t/a FDCA), GS Biotech (to add 1,500 t/a HMF and 1,000 t/a FCDA) and Tongling Leaf (to add 20,000 t/a FDCA)
• Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) projects, run by: Phabuilder (to build a 10,000 t/a PHA industrial park) and Lansu Biomaterial (to add 20,000 t/a PHA)
• Bio-based succinic acid (SA) projects, run by: Liaoning Kingfa (to add 100,000 t/a SA), Liangyungang Juwei Yuanchuang (to add 12,000 t/a SA)
• Bio-based nanocellulose projects, run by: Zhongke Namei and Sailuna Tech.

In addition, Huaheng Biotech proposed the 50,000 t/a bio-based 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) R&D and industrialisation project; Shandong Yuanli posted project report to construct 30,000 t/a bio-based 1,4-butanediol (bio-BDO) capacity; RGE Group unveiled plan to develop a 600,000 t/a Lyocell fibre project in Jining of Shandong; Sugar Energy announced completion of a pilot-scale 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) production line; Guang'an Mojia's 1,000 t/a bio-based 1,5-pentamethylene diamine (PDA) project was made public again; Siping Xiangyin's project to build a Stover Integrated Utilisation Industrial Park (phase I) was accepted by local authority; and KansenBio has raised RMB10 million+ to step up its bio-based materials development.

Price

In this quarter, the prices of PLA and PHA have moved horizontally.

The USD/CNY exchange rate in this newsletter is USD1.00=CNY7.1086 on 1 June, 2024, sourced from the People's Bank of China. Unless otherwise specified, all the prices mentioned in this newsletter will include the VAT.