Carbon nanotubes and graphene manufacturing dominated by China

According to market research company Lux Research, as Chinese companies join the global oversupply of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene markets, China has taken the lead in the research and manufacturing of carbon nanotubes and graphene, which has led to Falling prices and erosion of profits may even lead to the reshuffle of this emerging industry.

Lux Research analyst Zhun Ma said in a recent report on "Assessing the Development of Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene in China": "Lux expects global market demand for graphene nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes in 2018. It will reach 1,520 tons and 2,016 tons respectively, however, China alone is sufficient to meet global demand for graphene nano-particles before 2016. Similarly, the overall capacity of China's carbon nanotube suppliers can also meet 2015 The expected global demand before the year, we believe that once the production and utilization of graphene nano-particles and carbon nanotubes increase, the price will continue to decline. At the same time, as Chinese manufacturers actively expand their production capacity, they will continue to shrink. To the profit margins of these two kinds of nanomaterials." The driving force for Chinese manufacturers to actively invest in carbon materials research mainly comes from the financial support of the Chinese government. "China's 12th Five-Year Plan will progress from 2011 to 2015, so we have not yet been able to obtain the exact data on government-subsidized nanomaterials," Ma said. "But we expect the Chinese government's spending in the 12th Five-Year Plan will be About 2 billion U.S. dollars -- 2.5 times more than the funding for the previous five-year plan. Many Chinese companies focused on carbon nanotube research and manufacturing have already achieved global leadership in patents and published papers.

China currently leads the world in terms of the number of published products and patents for graphene research. According to Lux, China's current production of carbon nanotubes is approximately equivalent to the rest of the world. Although it still lags behind in graphene technology and manufacturing, China is rapidly catching up with leading positions in graphene-related publications and patents. China also leads the world in terms of publications for carbon nanotubes and ranks second in terms of patents. Lux also expects rapid growth from two companies: CNano in Beijing and Times Nano in Chinese Academy of Sciences. In terms of rates, China will soon be able to achieve a global leading position in the manufacture of carbon nanotubes.

"From 2013 to 2015, it is assumed that CNano and Timesnano have increased 500 tons and 100 tons each year according to their expansion plan, and China's global production capacity will also increase by 30% to 50%," Ma pointed out. "Including CNano and Both Timesnano companies have cost advantages, a complete customer network and continuous financial support and are expected to be considered as potential business partners in China." Although China is still far behind in graphene, it is trying hard to catch up. On the United States. "Overall, compared to other graphene companies around the world, Chinese graphene companies have a weaker position in the Lux Innovation Grid, partly because they are all newer companies. ,"Ma said. "As of now, its production cost is still difficult to compete with the world's leading graphene suppliers." According to Lux, due to the application of lithium-ion batteries and updated applications such as coating and heat sink materials, 2014 China Domestic graphene and carbon nano tube markets are expected to reach 24.4 million and 48.4 million U.S. dollars, respectively.

In addition, China's bright prospects in the field of graphene manufacturing are expected to come from The Sixth Element and Ningbo NINGBO Morsh, both of which have surpassed the production capacity of graphene nanoparticle. The United States.