Emerging Fields Drive Demand Upgrade, China's Polyurethane Consumption to Exceed 300 Billion Yuan by 2030

March 30, 2026 – With the continuous upgrading of domestic consumption, the rapid development of emerging industries such as new energy, wind power, and cold chain logistics, and the in-depth promotion of urbanization, the demand structure of China’s polyurethane industry is undergoing profound changes, and the industry is ushering in a new high-quality growth cycle. According to the prediction of the China Chemical Industry Information Center, the domestic polyurethane consumption scale will exceed 300 billion yuan by 2030, with an average annual growth rate of 7.5% in the next five years.

In traditional application fields, the building insulation sector is the largest consumer of polyurethane, accounting for more than 40% of the total consumption. Benefiting from the '2024–2025 Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Plan' issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the demand for high-efficiency thermal insulation materials in the building sector has surged. Polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation boards and polyurethane spray foam systems, with their excellent thermal insulation performance (thermal conductivity ≤ 0.022 W/(m·K)) and fire resistance, are gradually replacing traditional benzene boards and rock wool. It is predicted that by 2028, the annual growth rate of polyurethane demand in the building insulation sector will reach 8%–10%, and the market share of PIR insulation materials will exceed 35%.

The cold chain logistics field has become another growth point of traditional applications. With the continuous expansion of the domestic cold chain market, the demand for polyurethane insulation materials in refrigerated trucks, cold storage, and refrigerated containers is growing rapidly. According to the data from the China Cold Chain Logistics Association, the total volume of China’s cold chain logistics will reach 300 million tons by 2027, and the demand for polyurethane insulation materials will exceed 1.2 million tons. Enterprises such as Huntsman and Covestro predict that the annual growth rate of polyurethane demand in the cold chain field will exceed 20%, and high-performance polyurethane insulation materials with low thermal conductivity and long service life will become the mainstream of the market.

Emerging fields have become the core growth engine of the polyurethane industry. In the new energy vehicle (NEV) field, polyurethane composites are widely used in lightweight bodies, battery pack sealants, and interior parts, requiring materials to have excellent high and low temperature resistance (-40~150 ℃), flame retardancy (UL94 V–0 level), low VOC (volatile organic compounds) content, and good mechanical properties. At present, Wanhua Chemical has developed a special polyurethane composite for NEV battery packs, which has been adopted by BYD, Tesla, and other leading NEV enterprises, with a market share of more than 25%. In the photovoltaic field, polyurethane frames, relying on their weather resistance (anti-ultraviolet aging for more than 10 years), lightweight (40% lighter than aluminum frames), and corrosion resistance, are gradually replacing traditional aluminum frames. It is expected that by 2030, polyurethane frames will account for more than 50% of the photovoltaic frame market, creating a market scale of more than 50 billion yuan. In addition, polyurethane materials are also widely used in wind power blade protection, medical devices, and 3D printing, bringing new growth space for the industry.

In traditional application fields, the building insulation sector is benefiting from the '2024–2025 Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Plan'. Polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation boards and spray foam systems are gradually replacing traditional benzene boards and rock wool, with the annual growth rate of polyurethane demand in the building sector expected to reach 8%–10% by 2028. In the cold chain logistics field, polyurethane insulation materials will help improve the energy efficiency of refrigerated trucks and cold storage by 30%, and enterprises such as Huntsman predict that the demand growth rate in this field will exceed 20% annually.

Emerging fields have become the core growth engine of the industry. In the new energy vehicle field, polyurethane composites are used in lightweight bodies and battery pack sealants, requiring materials to have high and low temperature resistance (-40~150 ℃), flame retardancy (UL94 V–0 level) and low VOC characteristics. In the photovoltaic field, polyurethane frames will rely on weather resistance (anti-ultraviolet aging for more than 10 years) and lightweight (40% lighter than aluminum) advantages, and are expected to replace more than 50% of the traditional aluminum frame market by 2030. It is predicted that the domestic polyurethane consumption scale will exceed 300 billion yuan by 2030, with the proportion of high-end products increasing from 25% to 40%.